In Need of Change
by DaisyChain01
Summary: Ana's life was so controlled. She needed it that way so she could function. She thought that how she was living was a necessity for someone like her. But events occur on what she thought was a regular Friday date night with her bestie which proved otherwise.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N - ** - Hey guys! So I've started writing a new story! :) This is a lot different to my other story as I've kind of completely made up Ana's background. Sorry if it starts off slow or boring...but I don't know how to just go straight into all that dramatic stuff haha!

"Ana! I'm home!" She heard Kate yell from her bedroom. Of course, she already knew she'd arrived before she even stepped through the door. Their apartment was one of two that sat at the very top of the building, on the 15th floor. The private elevator shared between the two apartments required a keycard to work and opened at either side, leading to their apartment or their neighbours. She'd had a security system installed to alert whoever was in the apartment if their apartment number had been pressed. So not only did she hear the four simultaneous beeps of the alarm system, she heard the bells on the back of their front door chime when Kate turned the door handle.

She made her way from her bedroom and into their open plan kitchen/dining/living room area where Kate was. This was the room that was linked directly to the front door. Ana liked that her apartment was open plan as it allowed her to see her surroundings. She felt safer that way. It allowed her to ensure that her boundaries were kept. If she or Kate had guests, she'd be able to put herself in a position where no-one could approach her from behind. Where no-one could touch her.

"Hey you" She smiled at Kate who was now sitting at the breakfast bar about to pour a glass of wine.

"Hey! Want a glass before we get ready?" She said, holding the bottle of wine towards Ana.

"Of course," Ana winked "and before you ask, yes I've called Carter to let him know we'll be coming."

Her and Kate spent every Friday night out together as sort of a best friend date night. They would usually go to their favourite restaurant or to the club Ana silently ownes called 'Steele'. Only the store manager Carter knows that Ana is the owner and has signed an NDA so that she can be sure it stays that way. Sure Ana has money, but she doesn't want to be known for it. The club was a really good investment which developed a good income. Even though the staff don't know that she's the owner, she knows most of them personally considering how often her and Kate attend. Plus, she liked not being known. It allowed her to keep an eye on her staff without them knowing or showing her special treatment. She just had to call Carter a few hours before opening to ensure that her and Kate would have their usual table set up for them in the VIP section of the club.

"I've learned to just stop asking" She replied giggling whilst pouring them both a glass. The girls sat and gossiped about their week as they finished their glasses of wine before retiring to their rooms to shower and change for their date. Ana loved her room. The walls were a rich cream and she added colour through the art on the walls and the numerous brown and gold pillows on her bed. When she walked in, the whole of the left wall held floor to ceiling windows, looking out onto Elliott Bay. To her right was her super king size bed against the wall facing the windows. She loved nothing more but to wake up the the view of the harbour. It was a stocky bed made up of dark oak.

Some might think that a bed that large wasn't needed for such a small woman, but she'd tried having a smaller bed and with her nightmares it had left her with numerous sprained ankles and wrists from falling out. Straight in front of her stood what looked like ordinary fitted wardrobes that covered the whole wall. The wardrobes were made up of three large panels. The two on the edge made of the same oak as her bed and side tables with cast iron handles and the middle panel was a full mirror.

This was the part of her room she loved the most. The mirrored panel slid to either the left or the night, into the doors of the oak panels to reveal her real closet. Sure, the two wardrobes at the side probably would have been enough but she loved the thought of having something hidden. Somewhere to go in crisis where only her and Kate would know where she was.

Behind the mirrored panel was a long walk in closet. One side held all of her clothes whilst the other held her vanity table with mirror and all of her jewelry. She loved her jewelry collection. Sure it wasn't fancy or expensive, but it was her. She'd designed the storage space herself. Against the wall at the side of her vanity stood what looked like a miniature wardrobe which stood to about shoulder height. The double doors opened to reveal her collection in a neat and organised fashion. As always. When you walked to the end of the closet, there was a frosted door which lead to her bathroom.

Ana made her way through her bedroom and into her bathroom to take a quick shower. After her shower, she dried her hair and styled it so that it fell into soft beach looking waves and put on natural looking makeup. She decided that she wanted to wear her black long sleeve knot dress which came to about mid thigh. She thought that she could get away with the length due to the long sleeves of the dress. She paired the dress with her black and white striped Louboutins and matching clutch. For her jewelry she chose a long silver necklace which sat just below her breasts, a mixture of chunky and thin silver bracelets for her wrists and plain silver heart shaped earrings.

If she was going anywhere other than her club, where she knew it would be dark, she would have chosen a different dress. Her scars were through the gap in the dress at her waist and she never knew what to say to people who asked about them. Exiting her safe place, she went back to their open plan living area to wait for Kate who would without a doubt take another half an hour to get ready. Ana didn't mind, it gave her a chance to calm herself before facing her world. She picked up her cell to call reception and ask for a car to be ready to take them to the club in 30 minutes.

After that she poured herself a small glass of wine and moved to sit on her L-shaped couch. She picked up her guitar and played a few of the songs that her and her father used to play together when he was alive. On the odd occasion that she lost her control or was touched in one of her sensitive area's, playing those songs gave her a sense of calm. It allowed her to remember all of the good times with her father and regain her equilibrium.

She heard the bell from the back of Kate's door chime and the clicking of her heels against the wooden floor, signaling that she was ready to go. She stood and placed the guitar back on it's stand by the sofa before joining Kate by the door.

"I already called reception for a car so we don't have to wait" She told Kate as she picked up her clutch from the breakfast bar.

"You're the best Steele. I so wish I could hug you sometimes" Kate gave Ana a sad smile. She knew that her friend longed to be able to hold her, especially when she heard her nightmares, but she just couldn't take it and she didn't want to try and subject Kate to her violent reactions. So she just settled for the only contact she'd had over the last 3 years. She grabbed Kate's hand and squeezed it to show her understanding. After getting a slight squeeze in return she took a deep breath before releasing her hand and making her way to the door.

Their car dropped them off at the front of her club and they made their way past the people that were lining up down the street and to the bouncers at the front door. Gavin and Tony, the two bouncers that were working the door tonight nodded at Ana and stepped to the side to let her and Kate through. They both made their way down a side corridor that lead to the VIP area. Ana made sure that there was a separate entrance to the VIP section that didn't require going through the club as there was no way that she could stand walking through a room that crowded. The VIP area wasn't totally secluded from the main bar and dance floor. It sat up on a balcony overlooking the rest of the club and there was a set of stairs that led from the VIP area, straight to the main area for people that wanted to dance in the crowd too.

They arrived at their table...well...it was more of a booth. Ana liked to have her back to something solid just in case. The bartender brought over their usual - a gin and tonic for Ana and a piña colada for Kate. They sat in silence, enjoying their drinks and the pulsing of the music before Ana's attention was caught by a loud gasp coming from Kate.

"Oh my god, Ana! I totally forgot to ask you!" Kate had a look of horror on her face and she started to worry about what Kate had forgotten.

"Forgot to ask me what?" Did she really want to know the answer? She was unsure when she saw the nervous expression on Kate's face.

"Well...Ethan called me the other day...and he was going to come to town to spend some time with me before he headed back out to London..." Kate trailed off, biting her lip nervously.

"For god sake, Kate. Just tell me what you forgot to ask me?" She said rolling her eyes.

"Okay...erm...well it's just a question...and you can totally say no if you want too. There's no pressure at all. Erm...do you think that Ethan could maybe...possibly...stay with us for...a few nights?" She almost giggled at how nervous Kate was about asking her a simple question, but she understood her nervousness. She was a hard person to live with and she had certain limits and rules on how things were done in her home.

"Kate, it's totally fine as long as you make sure he knows my limits. I will not be held responsible if I break his wrist or something because he doesn't know to make himself known to me."

"Thank you so much Ana! I'll make sure that he puts the sofa bed up every morning and everything!" She squealed, smiling like a mad woman.

She watched as her friends eyes roamed the bar and the look of shock that passes across her face.

"Ana...that's Christian Grey!" Ana didn't even bother to look. She knew that her club had some pretty important visitors due to it's VIP section exclusivity and she was kind of used to it by now. Not that she knew who Christian Grey was.

"Why don't you ask him to dance?" She smiled, taking a sip of her drink.

"No thank you. I interviewed him in college and he wasn't that nice of a guy...quite cold actually. But...the guy at the other end of the bar is pretty hot, so I'll ask him to dance!" She giggled before hopping out of the booth and disappearing through the crowd.

Ana sat and listened to the music as it changed from one style to another. That was one of the things that Ana prided herself on and what made the club so popular, and that was that they played music from different genres and from different times. It kept people interested, and a lot of the time made people reminisce about different songs and what they mean to different people. The song changed to 'Hotel California' by the Eagles and she had to smile. This was the last song that her and her father had played together on their guitars before he passed away, and that was the last time she played it. It wasn't the same by herself. But hearing the original song brought a smile to her face and made her mind fill with happy memories. She felt like dancing. Which was something that she'd never done here...but the new sense of calm that this song brought over gave her the confidence boost to just go for it.

She stood and made her way to the small dance floor that was situated to look out over the balcony to the other dance floor. She stood at the edge of the dance floor with her back to the balcony and started to move. As the song really kicked in she closed her eyes and lifted her hands above her head and really let herself go to move to the music. The next thirty seconds were kind of a blur. She'd felt large warm hands move across the open skin on her waist...a serious no-go area for her and then she saw red. The next thing she knew, her fist coiled back and whoever touched her was now laying flat out on the floor in front of her. Fuck, what had she done? But she couldn't think about that right now. She needed to get out where there weren't so many people around her. She made a dash for the exit.

As soon as she exited the club, she walked to stand with her back against the cold brick. Shit, she was really shaking. She hadn't had someone touch her in one of her sensitive area's in such a long time, never mind on her bare skin and she was freaking out. She felt her legs give out and fold beneath her. She was desperately trying to control her breathing...she couldn't have a panic attack right now. She heard shoes clicking towards her and she took a brief glance upwards to see Kate now stood before her with a worried look on her face.

"What can I do Ana?" She asked, taking a step towards her. She held up her hand to Kate, signalling her not to come any closer. She hadn't got her breathing under control yet to get any words out. Suddenly, she heard what sounded like a group of people's footsteps coming towards her and she snapped her head upwards to find Carter and a few other men in business looking type suits jogging towards her. Now she really started panicking.

"K..ate!" She gasped trying to signal to her friend all of her fears about these men approaching.

"Okay...got it!" She said with determination before stomping off to meet the men half way. She was only about 10 steps away so she could hear their conversation.

"Don't come any closer...please...Carter just let these men know that she needs a minute or two." She was pleading with them and Ana hoped they'd listen to her.

"Miss Kavanaugh...she fucking punched my brother in the face! She didn't fully knock him out but shit! He was stumbling everywhere! Now your going to fucking let me see her right now!" She heard a man with a very strong voice practically growl at Kate.

"Miss?" She heard a softer, and kind of familiar voice closer to her than the other voices and her head snapped up to look at the man behind the voice. She couldn't believe who she was seeing, and by the look of realisation spread on his face he was shocked to see her too.

"Jay?" Her voice came out shakey as she tried to hold back her tears. Her fears were getting the better of her and now seeing him here made her show her vulnerable side. For so long she'd learned to deal with these episodes on her own. It didn't used to be like that. She used to have him and her father. The only two men who could touch her without her panicking or turning violent.

"Rosie?" At her nickname, she started sobbing and reached out her arms to the man in front of her. He grabbed her under her arms and hauled her up to him, lifting her off of the ground. She wrapped her legs around his waist as she'd done since she was a little girl and sobbed into his shoulder. One of his hands were cradling her head whilst the other was wrapped securely around her back, holding her up. He kept on pressing kisses to the top of her head like he'd done so many times in the past trying to calm her down.

"Am I safe?" Was the first question she asked, hiccuping through her tears.

"Yes, sweet girl. Would you like me to put your back on a wall?" Her sobs continued due to the familiarity of this situation. She nodded into his neck and felt him take a few steps forward to her back was pressed into a wall. To anyone from the outside looking in, it would look inappropriate...but they have a father/daughter type relationship and it was completely normal to them.

"I can't believe you're here, Jay. You don't know how much I needed you right now." She managed to whisper once she got her sobs reduced to silent tears.

"I know. I'm sorry I had to leave you angel. You know I would have stayed if I could." She just nodded, fully understanding why he had to go.

"I missed you so much." She squeezed with both her arms and legs, afraid that he might disappear again. But instead she felt him squeeze her back in return. Their reunion was soon ruined by that strong voice booming.

"Does someone want to tell me what the fuck just happened...and what the fuck are you doing Taylor?" She knew he was addressing her Jay. As far as she knew, she was the only person that has ever called him 'Jay'. They either called him Taylor, or if they're his family or very close friends, they call him Jason.

**A/N** - soooooo...what do you guys think? Kind of repetitive with the whole 'Ana's as messed up as Christian is' thing...but I'm hoping to try to create something individual out of this. I'll continue this story if you guys like it, just let me know :)

**Lots of love...**

**Daisy xo**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N** - So...with all of your fabulous reviews, here's another chapter! It takes me longer to work on these chapters then my other story with it being so technical with the timing and stuff...so sorry if you have to wait longer :( Hopefully it'll be worth the wait though! :)

**chrisana143** - Now that would be telling wouldn't it? ;)

**KateReadWrite** - I've always liked Taylor and I really wanted him to have a big part in this story. Hope you continue along their journey!

**Kat282301** - Oh someone will definitely be coming...I'll be sure to add a wet pantie warning on the beginning of that chapter! ;)

Chapter 2

At the sound of his name Ana felt Jay tense before slowly relaxing his muscles, effectively releasing her from his strong grasp. No! No no no no. She just got him back, she didn't want to let him go yet. She tightened her arms and legs as much as she could around taylor, hanging off of him whilst he stood with his arms by his sides.

"It's okay Rosie. I'm not going anywhere. It's just that...that's my...boss...and I need to talk to him if I want to keep my job." She felt his whisper against her neck, almost a pleading before his hands reached up for hers, releasing his neck from her grasp. Her breathing was now back under control. This must have been the fastest in years that she's recovered from an episode that quickly. Christ, she had missed him. She took one last breath before releasing her legs from his waist and separating herself from him completely. Her knees shook at the loss of contact. She hadn't been hugged since her Father died. You'd be surprised how much a person would miss that contact. Especially when you can't stand any touch other than his and a man she'd not seen since she was 17. She felt a wave of calm spread through her body, kind of like when she plays the guitar...and she just knew that she'd have the strength to deal with this situation.

"I'm OK, Jay. I'm just so glad you're here." She smiled, wiping her tears before standing on her tiptoes to press a kiss to his cheek. "Now, let's go talk to this boss of yours, hmm?" He smiled and nodded his head before placing his hand on the bottom of her back and guiding her over to where the men in suits, Kate and Carter were stood, staring at them both in what looked like shock. She glanced a look at Jay and saw that he'd donned his impassive military face. She could bet her ass that he was beating himself up about his lack of professionalism in front of his boss, but he'd get over it. He nodded to the man with the loud voice.

"Boss."

"Shut up, Taylor! I'll deal with you later! Now I want to know why you fucking punched my brother in the face!" God! could his voice get any louder? And who the fuck did he think he was talking to Jay like that?! Hell...her like that?! Oh, no Mr Suit.

"If you're quite finished! I will not talk to you whilst you stand there and talk to Jay like a dog! Or me! And if you swear at me one more time, I promise I'll kick your ass! And no-one will stop me, you hear?! Not your fucking bodyguards, and definitely not those guns that they're carrying! Not even Jay...not that he'd dare!" Crap. She didn't mean to get this angry...and now here she was standing and panting with her fists clenched by her sides trying to calm down.

He was now looking at her like she was from another planet. Did he think she couldn't do it? Obviously he didn't know who she was or he'd be shaking in his fancy Italian shoes!

"Are you kidding me?" and he laughed. Fucking threw his head back and laughed at her! Between his chuckles he managed to get out "What are you? 5"3? 5"4 at the most? I bet you don't weigh more than 100 pounds! And how old are you anyway? Probably not even old enough to get into this club. I could get you arrested for using a fake I.D or something." After that little speech, she was literally shaking in anger. She really just wanted to beat his ass! He probably deserves it, too. Letting her anger take over, she took a step towards him. Before she could take another one, she felt Jay's arm wrap securely around her waist and pull her into his side.

"Boss, please. Don't underestimate her. As your head of security, I'm advising you to stop before you put yourself in harms way. I'll try my best not to let her hurt you, but I won't hurt her, sir." Psh, she nearly laughed out loud. There was no way that he could stop her from hurting his boss, even if he tried.

"Fuck off, Taylor! As if this little girl could hurt me! Just because you know her somehow, doesn't mean that she'll get special treatment from me!" His icy gaze moved from Jay to her and if possible, only made her more angry. "Now you're going to tell me what the fuck happened in there!" He shouted, pointing towards the entrance of her club.

"I'm not going to tell you anything." She practically growled at him. He walked closer to her, standing just a few steps away.

"You're going to tell me now, or I'll get you banned from this club for life...and most other clubs here in Seattle for that matter." Ha, he didn't know shit. How could she get barred from her own club? "Understand...Rosie?" At the sound of her Father and Jay's nickname for her escape his lips, she lost all of the control that was stopping her from seriously kicking his ass. Before she even moved she heard Jay's whisper.

"Shit."

She forcefully removed Jay's arm from around her waist, giving him a warning look before returning her gaze to the grey eyed suit stood before her.

"Don't you dare call me that! I'm Miss Steele to you, you worthless piece of shit!" She spat. She saw his nostrils flare, his anger plainly obvious. He took one stop closer before whispering in a sinister way.

"Ro...sie." She snapped. She jumped off the floor with one leg bent before swinging the other leg up from the leverage of her jump. She didn't want to impale her heel into his neck, so she aimed the ball of her foot so that she'd connect with his chin, sending his head flying backwards. Then all hell broke loose.

The suits that were cautiously standing by, observing their interaction now sprung into action. Three of them. Huh, even in her sky high Louboutins it wasn't a challenge, she thought to herself as she readied for the attack. Before any of them could make contact with her, she heard the slightly choked voice of Mr Suit.

"Stop! All of you!" At the sound of his voice, she felt Jay's arm wrap back around her waist and a small kiss placed on her temple.

"Calm down, Rosie." He whispered in her ear, calming her almost instantly. That was right. Jay calling her Rosie was right, not Mr Suit. She looked to Jay and offered him a reassuring smile, letting him know that she'd gotten her anger under control. She felt him hesitate before releasing her waist and standing beside her with his hands clasped in front of him, once again donning his military face.

She cautiously looked over to where Mr Suit was to see him hunched over slightly, one hand on his knee whilst the other rubbed his chin. He must have felt her stare because his eyes raised to hers. Wow. Gray. She'd never seen eyes that colour before, and now they were staring at her in shock. She didn't know what to say. What do you say to a man nearly a whole foot taller than you who you just drop kicked in the face? She had no clue, so she just stated the obvious.

"Um...I'm sorry, I have anger issues." She felt her cheeks heat, suddenly embarrassed by her actions.

"It's fine. I taunted you." She saw him take another deep breath before straightening up.

"Taylor...sorry for not listening to you." She saw Jay nod out of the corner of her eye, never breaking his stance.

"Uh...I'm sorry. Christian Grey...and you are?" He reached his hand out in a belated greeting. She reached forward and shook his hand for only a second before pulling back. His brows pulled together in confusion at her excuse of a handshake, but she ignored it.

"Anastasia Steele. I'll talk to you if you'd like. But not here. Why don't you go and get your brother and you can follow my driver back to my apartment so that we can all talk there?" He looked shocked by her words, but recovered quickly.

"That sounds fine with me. Taylor, will you please get the car ready?" He waited for Jay's nod before turning around and walking back into the club, followed by two of the bodyguards. Jay turned to look at her face, silently asking if she's OK and she gives him a small nod to reassure him. She saw him walk around the corner, apparently to where Mr Grey's car is.

Now, outside her club still wearing the stupid shocked faces stood Kate, Carted and bodyguard number three.

"Oh for god's sake people, snap out of it! Carter, you can go back to work now. Call me tomorrow at 12 with last month's numbers, OK?" When he just nodded his head and headed back into the club she addressed Kate.

"Katie. I know you have a right to be shocked right now, and I'll explain it all to you tonight when the goons have left. You think you can roll your jaw back up until then?" Kate coughed, closed her mouth and nodded her head.

"Uhm, not quite sure what to say to you. How about your name?" She nervously addressed bodyguard number three.

"Luke Sawyer, ma'am." He said in a smooth, deep voice. "I don't mean to sound unprofessional, but I wouldn't be in this job if it wasn't for the Combatives...so thank you...and if your father was here, I'd thank him too. He's a legend and my role model, ma'am." Suddenly feeling emotional, she could only nod her head to Mr Sawyer.

Seeing her car still parked at the entrance of the club with the driver patiently waiting, she walked up to Kate, grabbed her hand and pulled her in the direction of the car. She felt Kate's hand tighten on hers, showing her stress and concern about this situation. Suddenly feeling the need to reassure her best friend, she stopped by the doors of the car and turned to face her best friend. She reached forward to clasp both of her hands in her own before whispering.

"I'm OK now Kate. Remember I told you about my Father and the friend that he grew up with?" It looked like she was looking deep into her brain, trying to recall the memory where Ana told her this little snippet of her past. She saw the memory pass through her brain and she gave a slight smile and nodded at Ana, obviously understanding what she was talking about. Kate was still gripping her hands tight so she leaned forward and pressed her closed lips against her friends lightly before leaning back. She saw a look of shock pass across her friends face at the contact and she suddenly wondered if that was inappropriate. But she knew that her best friend that seemed more like a sister to her than anything else would appreciate any form of contact from her.

"I promise you, Kate...I'm fine. We'll talk more later, OK?"

"Okay, Ana." She blushed, looking at Ana through her lashes before whispering "Thank you." She only smiled at her friend and then released their hands. She looked up the street to see an Audi SUV parked a couple of spaces away and Christian standing next to the open door looking over at them. He seemed confused again and she wondered why. Too tired to even question it she called out to him.

"Just follow my car, OK?" When he nodded she got into the car, followed by Kate and set off home to her apartment.

During the car ride, Ana realised something.

"Kate?"

"Hmm?"

"Uhm, when we get home, would you mind waiting in the lobby for Jay and Mr Grey...and whoever else they want to bring up with them?" Kate looked at her questioningly. "I don't know how I'll deal in an elevator filled with people." She shrugged her shoulders, not having to elaborate any further. Kate was well aware of her issues.

"Oh...no problem Ana."

Ana arrived at her apartment, unlocked the door only to lock it as soon as she was inside. Call her paranoid, but anyone could get in and if only her and Kate had a Key...she knew who it was that was coming through the door. Wondering what to do with herself for the few minutes that she's alone, she decides that she should put her hosting skills into practice. She filled her three Stainless Steel wine buckets with ice before placing them along her dining room table and adding a bottle of white, rose and red wine to them. Then, she went to the fridge and took out her cheese board. Four simultaneous beeps alerted her that her guests were about to arrive so she quickly unwrapped the cling film from the cheese board and placed it on the table, as well as grapes and the appropriate crackers and biscuits.

She heard the bells on the front door chime and she quickly moved herself so that she was standing behind the breakfast bar, her back to the kitchen sink. The room was soon filled with Kate, Jay, Mr Grey, his three bodyguards and who she guessed was his brother, who had a deep purple bruise colouring the side of his jaw.

"Uhm, hey everyone. I've set out drinks and snacks in the dining room if you'd all like to move in there and we'll talk?" Nodding, they all moved to the dining room.

She stood in the archway that connected the kitchen to the dining room. Mr Grey moved to it at the head of the table, opposite to where she was standing. Jay took his seat to the right of Mr Grey, his brother to his left and Kate sat next to him. The three bodyguards positioned themselves around the room. Mr Sawyer and the other suit flanking Mr Grey and the other stood to her left. Huh...was he really doing what she thought he was? Let's see. She took two steps into the room and saw him move with her, taking two steps to the side. Bastard! This was her home! She quickly took two steps towards the bodyguard and delivered a hard punch in his stomach, effectively winding him and making him bend in half. She then grabbed one of his arms, twisted it around his back and moved him so that his face was pressed against her wall.

"Grey." She growled, turning her head to look at him. "You're in my house. Here are my rules. You don't like them...you get out. Hear me?" At his nod she carried on. "Your men will sit. If I wanted to seriously harm you, I would have done back at my club. They will leave their guns in the middle of the table and Jay will keep their mags, just so that you know I won't hurt you." At that she grabbed bodyguard number two's gun from beneath his jacket, released the mag before throwing it to Jay and cocking the gun to release the round still contained before placing it in the middle of the table, signalling for the other two to do so. She saw Mr Grey nod at the two men behind her and they did the same as her, then placing their guns onto the table.

Noticing that Jay hadn't made a move to remove the mag from his gun, Ana looked at him with raised eyebrows. Rolling his eyes, he completed the task before placing his gun beside the others. If he thinks she's that stupid, obviously he's spent too long without her. Sighing, she commanded. "Sit." Another nod from Mr Grey and the men sat. Huffing, she walked around the table to Jay's chair, tipping it backwards causing the chair to fall back onto the wall with him in it. Not wasting any time, grabbed the ankle that was now in the air and removed the gun from the ankle strap before unloading it and putting the gun on the table. She grabbed the back of the chair and hauled it back upwards to that he was sitting again, she passed him the mag and kissed the tip of his nose.

"Now, now Jay...you know me better than that. Don't try me again."

"Just seeing if you'd remember, angel." She giggled and moved herself so that she was standing behind the chair at the other end of the table.

"Now, where were we?" She declared, addressing the whole table of people that were now looking at her expectantly.

**A/N** - Going to leave it there otherwise I'll never get to sleep hehe! Sorry I cut it off at an important part...but there was drama in there so I hope you guys enjoy! Please review! I love the banter that I have with some of you guys! ;) Just wish there were more of you to tease!

**Lots of love...**

**Daisy xo**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N -** Sorry that this chapter is later than it's supposed to be...it's just waaay harder to write than my other story. Anyways, hope you enjoy!

**MrsCTGrey -** I really wanted to make her character strong, even if she is fucked up haha. Glad you dig :) I know...poor Elliot. But he is sat next to Kate so you never know...his might night turn out to be good ;)

**chrisana143 -** Ana's 21 and Christian's 28 :)

**hermionesteele -** You'll get more info on how they're actually connected as the story goes on :) Keep a look out ;)

She was nervous...and shaking. Not only does she have 5 people in the apartment who she doesn't know, she was just forced to touch one of them after just getting over a breakdown. She didn't want to appear weak, but she could feel that she was on the edge of another breakdown. She needed to state her boundaries so she can feel safe.

"Alright…" shit. Even her voice was shaking. "I can't do this if you guys don't listen to me. Please stay in your seats. Katie..Jay...obviously you're free to move around but please tell me where you're going. If the rest of you need something, let me know. Is that...okay?" She nervously looked towards Mr Grey to see him looking at her with concern. That was enough for her to toughen up a bit, she hated when people worry about her or pity her. She saw him nod in agreement and she felt herself calm down more.

"Number?" She heard Jay ask her from across the table.

"No more than a four, thank you." She reassured him. She had to smile again, she'd missed these things that seemed so normal to her whilst growing up. "Right. Where shall I start? Uhm...I'm sure you have some questions." She saw Mr Grey straighten up before speaking, no doubt to look more powerful.

"I know why you hit me, but I want to know why you hit my brother."

"Yeah, me too. Damn girl...that was some hit." This was the first time she'd heard his brother speak. She didn't even know his name, or the names of the other two suits. She'd rectify that soon.

"It's not something that I prefer to talk about, but I don't think I have a choice considering the situation. I suffer from Haphephobia…a fear of being touched. I've never actually danced in public before and that's exactly the reason why. But a song came on that I felt like dancing to...so I did. Usually I would see if someone was about to touch me and stop it, or at least prepare myself but I had my eyes closed. By the time I realised what was going on, my fist was already making it's journey and I panicked." Mr Grey again looked shocked. Could he get shocked by everything she does? She focused her attention on his brother. "I'm really sorry, Mr Grey...is there anything I can do?" Fortunately he gave her a wide-toothed grin and a wink.

"Apology accepted, little lady. Could I trouble you for some ice? Stings like a bitch." She had to giggle, she liked this guy. He seemed like the friendly big brother type.

"Sure. Kate...do you mind?" Obviously not. She shot up out of her chair so quick and headed past her and into the kitchen. She moved herself so that she was stood at the top corner of the table so she was able to address the group whilst still being able to see Kate out of the corner of her eye.

"Anything else?" She directed the question to his brother but it was Mr Grey who answered her.

"How do you know Taylor? It's obvious that you two have a more...personal relationship." She saw Jay pale at his assumption and once again she giggled. She couldn't blame him for assuming that she would have a more personal relationship with him. She made up for the fact that she couldn't withstand physical contact with anyone other than him and her Father before his passing by seeking contact from them whenever she could. But it was always for comfort.

"It's okay, Jay...don't pass out." She giggled when he glared. She notice Kate sneak back in and hand his brother the ice pack. "Jay grew up with my Father, they were like brothers. They were in the army together and they brought me up together. We don't and never have had a personal relationship." Now he looked confused.

"But how could he have brought you up? You're so young...and he'd worked for me for four years."

"I'm 21. When I say brought up, I mean that he made me the person I am today...there's no time limit on that." I sent a loving smile towards Jay, which he returned. "I think that I've covered the necessities. Do you want some wine?" He nodded his head, once again shocked. What was with him? She gestured for him to help himself.

"There's red, white and rose. Help yourself to the food as well, you shouldn't drink on an empty stomach. Actually, has everyone had dinner?" Chuckling, his brother shook his head.

"We were just heading out to dinner before you sucker punched me."

"Right. Only one glass whilst you all wait for the food to arrive. Italian okay?"

"Miss Steele, that's not necessary. We-" Cutting him off she explained.

"It's the least I can do, I've already spoiled yours and your brothers night out. Plus, I'd really like the chance to catch up with Jay. I assumed that since you have three other bodyguards that it would be okay?"

"Uh...sure."

"Kate...I'm sure you wouldn't mind keeping them company for a while? I'll order the usual and be in my room catching up with Jay."

"Sure thing sweetie, as long as I get another kiss before bed." She winked and giggled causing her to giggle back. Shaking her head, she motioned with her hand for Jay to follow her as she made her way from the dining room and to her bedroom, picking up her purse on the way.

She stood looking out of her bedroom window as she placed her rather large order at the Italian down the street. Once she was finished she turned around to see Jay stood in the doorway to her bedroom with tears in his eyes.

"Angel, how long has it been?" She knew he was asking her how long it had been since she was held in comfort.

"You know the answer to that, Jay." Her voice cracked and tears pooled in her eyes.

"No…" He whispered, pained. "No One else?"

"We lost contact. I fucking hate your ex wife, did I tell you that?" He chuckled sadly and nodded in understanding. "Then daddy died. I felt less safe after that to let anyone in. I've been alone for nearly three years, Jay." At that she broke down. It only took Jay seconds to reach her and surround her in his embrace. It took her a few minutes to get her sobs back under control to the point where she was once again crying silent tears. She needed more comfort from him. She tugged on the front of his shirt.

"Off." She managed to whisper. He complied instantly, unbuttoning the top few buttons before pulling it over his head. He gestured to his vest underneath and when she nodded her head he untucked it and took that off too. It had been four years since she'd seen him, and he hadn't aged at all.

"I need my shorts." She whispered before pulling out of his embrace and moving to get her pyjama shorts from under her pillow. She quickly kicked off her shoes before pulling on the shorts under her dress. When they were in place she pulled off her dress so she was stood in her sleep shorts and her bra. She ran back to where Jay was stood and flung into him embrace, relishing in the skin on skin contact. She couldn't help it when the sobs returned, she just let them overtake her. Again, she felt Jay's kisses on the top of her head as he held onto her tight.

After a few minutes, she still hadn't calmed down and she felt herself being picked up and moved to the corner of the room where her hanging chair was. She liked to sit there to read. The pod like shape made her feel safe enough to really lose herself in a book. She was sat in Jay's lap as he rocked the chair, while making soothing sounds. She didn't know how long it had been before she calmed down enough for her breathing to be under control. But patient as ever Jay didn't seem to mind.

"I missed you, Jay." She whispered to him again.

"I missed you too, angel. How long have you been here? I tried contacting you at the school a few times after your daddy passed away but they just told me you moved. You have a damn good team, Rosie."

"Mamaw lives here. I told you I didn't feel safe alone...and I wanted to be closer to the only family I had left, so I moved here a week after the funeral to live with her. After you left, daddy started to train up Rodriguez. He wanted to be able to spend more time with me. You know he was the best person for the job. He was trained up for a year before he started teaching. Me and daddy would work together to write the new programmes and I would train with Rodriguez three times a week so he would be the best. Then daddy died. When I decided that I didn't want to stay there alone, me and Rodriguez came to the agreement that he'd come and stay here one weekend a month and we'd use that weekend for him to learn the new programmes. They aren't changed often, as you know...just tweaks here and there so it was mainly just working on skills. The boys that were there when you left are still there and they support everything I decide. I lost you when I was 17...and then daddy when I was 19...and I've been alone ever since." Jay moved his hand under her chin and forced her to look in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Rosie. I'm not going anywhere, I promise. Where you are, I am...got it?" She nodded. "If the boss doesn't like it then I'll quit. I don't need that job. Oh..but I met someone." Now he had her attention.

"Who? What's she like? Is she nice? Is she pretty? Will she like me?" He put his hand over her mouth and chuckled.

"One at a time Angel. She'd called Gail and...I love her." She felt her eyes well again, happy tears this time.

"Well, that's all I need to know then isn't it?" She bent her head to place multiple small kisses his tattoo on his chest. The one he had done for her. It was a tattoo of a sparrow being set free from a rusty cage. The rusty cage represented her dark past and it was a nice reminder of how her father and her Jay set her free.

She heard the bells on the back of her door chime, alerting her that someone was entering her room. She quickly turned her head to see that it was Mr Grey stood there. And he was openly staring at her chest. It was then that she remembered she was just in her bra. She felt Jay's arm circle around her to cover her up while he growled.

"Something you need, sir?" That broke him out of his trance.

"Uh...yeah...foods here. I'll...uh...wait back in the dining room." When she heard her bedroom door click shut she threw her head back and laughed. Obviously it was infectious because soon she felt Jay shake with his own laughter. It wasn't long before she was wiping the tears out of her eyes.

"Did you see him? 'I'll...uh...wait back in the dining room' I doubt that he'll be able to look you in the eye for the rest of the night." Shaking his head, still chuckling he said.

"Well if it means that he'll keep his eyes off you, I'm all for it." She quickly kissed his cheek, squeezed him one last time before standing and heading to find a shirt.

"Protective as ever, I see. Go wait for me with your boss while I get dressed."

"I will if you promise to cover up...you're a woman now Rosie." She giggled once again. The last time she'd seen Jay was when she was 17. She was a late developer, meaning that she hardly had any breasts or ass...or hips. Now, she had fully grown into her figure. She had full C cup breasts, a small waist, large hips and and ass to match. No doubt a shock to him.

"I'm all grown up." She winked "Now do as I say before I have to make you." He held up his hands in surrender as he walked to get his shirt, pulling it on as he made his way out of the room.

She'd just finished pulling on her shirt when she heard a knock on her door.

"Who is it?"

"M...Mr grey...I just wanted to talk to you alone before we sit down to dinner. It'll only take a few minutes." She was wary...she'd never had a man in her bedroom before, Jay obviously being an exception

"And does this really need to be done in private?"

"Please...I just want to talk. I'll respect your boundaries, I promise." She thought about it. She knew that he couldn't do anything to hurt her, and she kind of did owe him for drop kicking him.

"Okay...come in. But you'll sit where I was with Jay and you'll stay sat." The door opened and there he stood. Damn. She hadn't noticed how good looking he was. She watched as those gray eyes slowly scanned her from head to toe before he moved to sit in the chair in the corner.

"So...what's this about?"

"You're a mystery to me...and I want to know more. I thought that if I shared a bit about me with you, then you'd enlighten me on some of your mysteries." He smirked playfully at her and she giggled in return.

"I'll try my best, Mr Grey...but I'm a very private person."

"As am I. But I'm sure that we can be...private...together, yes?"

**A/N -** Leaving it there. If anyone needs a timeline of Ana's past then I'll do one for you, but I should just let you know that it will kind of be explained in the next chapter with her conversation with Christian. Leave suggestions if you want to see something and review!

**Lots of love…**

**Daisy xo**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N -** Hey guys! Sorry for being totally MIA with this story lately...I was really busy moving house and I'm just getting over the worst flu imaginable! Hopefully I will be able to get back to regular updates. It's up to you guys, would you prefer 1000 word chapters every 2-3 days..or 3000 word chapters once a week?

**Grey Steele fan -** Glad you noticed he had some interest! Hopefully you'll get more of that in this chapter :P I know! Makes you appreciate what you have. You'll find out some of her story in this chapter...but the rest won't come until she can trust him more :D

**chrisana143 -** Yes both broken...but maybe they can heal each other?

**tkc -** Why thank you! Hopefully I can keep it all to this standard ;)

**MrsLeona -** Thank you! Glad you dig :)

Chapter 4

She was wary. She'd only just met this man tonight and here he was, in her room...wanting to know more about her. Sure she'd assaulted both him and his brother but she'd explained why she did that, what more could he want to know? In any normal case she would have just brushed this off, but there was something about this man that intrigued her and hell, she wanted to know about him too.

She'd never had to actually speak about her past with anyone but her Father, Jay and the lawyer that helped keep her safe. She'd told Kate about as little as she could get away with to placate her, but that was it. She clung onto the fact that it was her life to share and she could tell him whatever she wanted, but she couldn't help but wonder why he wanted to know about her. Pulling herself back to the present, she noticed how they were both silent, just staring at eachother. Looking at him with curiosity, she cleared her throat before speaking.

"Mr Grey, I get that I can come across a bit strange and you're probably wondering why I am the way I am. What I want to know is why do you care enough to come and question me?" She could see his eyes making their way across her face, seeming to be taking her in before speaking.

"Because you're like me" It was whispered so softly before those gray eyes bore into her once more. She must have looked confused as he carried on speaking in that soft whisper. "Haphephobia...I have it too."

She gasped and her legs failed her, causing her to fall to her knees on the floor. No. She could barely handle what happened to her never mind what could have happened to him to cause the phobia. She couldn't catch her breath and she started to shake. Her mind caught up with her and she realised that she had 3 Suits in her dining room as well as Jay that all worked for Mr Grey...for his...protection. She knew Jay could protect him on his own, so the reason he had three more must be because of his phobia. Oh, god. What happened to him? Please don't let it be what happened to her. She started to see spots in her vision from not being able to catch her breath. She needed to get herself under control before she passes out. She focused hard, trying to draw in a big breath and when she did, she shouted as loud as the breath would allow her.

"NINE!"

Within seconds Jay came bursting through the door, his eyes darting straight to her on the floor and flickering to Mr Grey in the corner. She was still gasping for breath as Jay knelt down in front of her and held her face in his hands, making her look him in the eye.

"Rosie...breath for me sweet girl. You're safe. I'm here. Just breath like your daddy taught you." The words acted as a soothing balm to her and she was able to take in her first shaky breath, followed by another, and another until her vision cleared. Realising that Mr Grey wasn't in her eyesight, she started to shuffle back before being scooped up into Jay's arms and thrown roughly onto the bed. Looking up, she saw Jay stood at the side of the bed at full height staring down at her intensely. Ot Oh. Someone was in trouble.

"What the fuck is going on in here, Rosie?" He didn't raise his voice, but she knew how serious he was being. He was using his dad voice. Not knowing how to explain the situation she just whispered. "He's like me, isn't he?" She saw the recognition in his eyes before they softened, followed by the rest of his face and body. He turned and walked to the corner where Mr Grey was frozen solid in her chair. She could hear their whispers but made no attempt to try to work them out. She was too exhausted. Her mind was swimming with thoughts that she'd rather forget and hoping that the thoughts were hers alone to suffer from, and not shared with Mr Grey. She heard a soft whimpering around the quiet room and it took her a few minutes to realise they were coming from her. She was sat in the middle of her big bed with her legs pulled up to her chin crying quietly.

She saw Jay and Mr Grey straighten from their huddle in the corner and make their way over to her. Mr Grey stopped at the bottom of her bed, where he perched on the end of it facing her while Jay came around the side, sitting on the bed next to her and pulling her into his lap. She wanted nothing more than to fall asleep on Jay's shoulder but before she did she had to make sure he wasn't like her. She looked up at him with questioning eyes.

"Angel…" His expression was pained and it made her panic wondering what Mr Grey had actually been through. It wouldn't be hard for him to tell her if it wasn't bad.

"No…" She whispered feeling more tears pool her eyes. Jay closed his eyes, taking a breath before looking down at her again with nothing but pure sadness in his eyes.

"Not nearly as long, and it doesn't affect him like it does you...but some of the same abuse." She only just caught the words they were so quiet from his lips. She closed her eyes tightly, focusing on her breathing as she really let the words sink in. Same abuse. Those two words went around and around in her head.

After a few minutes of being inside her head, she opened her eyes and looked over to Mr Grey. He looked sad, probably reflecting the look on her face. Uncurling herself from Jay's lap she crawled down her bed to sit on her knees in front of Mr Grey. She raised her hand to his face. Before she made contact, she remembered his phobia leaving her hand frozen in the air stretched out towards him. He must have sensed her hesitation as he slightly nodded his head in approval. Continuing her movements her hand made contact with the side of his face where she caressed the soft skin.

"Who would be able to hurt such a beautiful man?" She said her thoughts out loud as her eyes followed her finger. "I'm so sorry that this happened to you." She dropped her hand when she saw his rise slowly to her face. When he saw no hesitation in her face he softly wiped the tear tracks from both of her cheeks whilst speaking.

"I got off easy by the sounds of things. Don't waste your tears on me, I'll be fine."

She was about to reply when a loud grumble sounded from behind her. Turning her head, she saw Jay rub his tummy. She gasped.

"When did you last eat?" She asked him through narrow eyes. He raised his hand and scratched the back of his head.

"Uh…"

"Don't 'Uh' me, Jay. You know how I feel about that. Up. Both of you. Hopefully there's food left for all of us." She said as she made her way off the bed. She let them out of the room in front of her and she followed behind.

She felt strange walking into a room full of men wearing just her sleep shorts and an old T-shirt, but she was way to tired to care enough to go change. The first thing she noticed was Katie and Mr Grey No.2 sat so close together she might as well have been sat on his lap. She smiled when she heard her best friend giggle, it was obvious she liked him. Next she noticed how someone had served all of the food, remembering to serve her, Jay and Mr Grey a portion too. She also noticed how no-one had touched their food yet, they just watched them enter the room. Now she was confused.

"Why hasn't anyone touched their food? Is there something wrong?" She asked, looking around at everyone. At her voice, Kate and Mr Grey No.2 broke their stare to look at her. Surprisingly, it was Sawyer that answered her.

"Since you were so kind to get everyone food, we thought it best to wait for you Miss Steele."

"Please, call me Ana...and there was really no need." She smiled at him and the rest of the room before taking her seat at the other end of the table to where Mr Grey was now sat and tucked into her meal, followed by everyone else.

For a few minutes everyone ate their meals in silence until Jay spoke.

"It's a nice play you got here, Rosie."

"Thanks. Me and Katie were looking at a couple of other places before settling on moving here, like The Olivian and Escala but the penthouses were taken. In Escala we could have had the apartment under the penthouse, but it wasn't secure enough...public elevator and stuff like that. I wanted both apartments up here, but the adjoining wall between the two supports the structure and obviously the elevator needs to be there. It seemed a waste to buy it to be an empty space. I mean, I could have just given it to Kate but the whole point of moving in somewhere together is so that we could be together. But don't worry, I had Peters check out who moved in. They're clean." After she finished speaking she looked up from her dinner to see Jay grinning at her.

"I forgot how much you can talk, Angel."

"Why do you need to be at the top?" The unexpected question came from Mr Grey.

"Safety." She answered simply, sending him a small smile which he returned.

After that, more silence followed as everyone finished their meals. She noticed when everyone had finished and looked towards her best friend for help on clearing the table. Kate jumped up straight away, gathering everyone's dishes and making her way to the sink with them. When Ana heard the water running at the sink she made her way to her friend rolling her eyes.

"Just leave them, Katie. We'll do them later." She said as she turned the tap off. Grabbing her friends hand she made her way back into the dining room. She was much more relaxed than she was when she first walked in here. As she stood at the head of the table she suddenly remembered something.

"Oh, how rude of me. Here we are, having had a meal and I still don't know half of your names. I'm Anastasia Steele, or Ana…" She pointed to her best friend. " and this is Katherine Kavanaugh, or Kate." The first suit stood up, the one she'd not long assaulted in this very room and held out his hand towards her which she quickly shakes.

"Ryan, ma'am."

"Ana, please." She corrected. "And sorry for earlier, probably shouldn't have taken it out on you."

"Ana." He only said, and nodded his head. After him, the second suit stood up and offered his hand.

"Bass, ma'am." At her groan, Jay and Katie chuckled.

"Please, call me Ana." She said, to which he just nodded and sat back down. Now it was only Mr Grey No.2 who she didn't really know the name of. Luckily, he stood up and made his way towards her. Nervous about her earlier actions, she took a cautious step back which made him stop in place in front of her.

"Shit. Sorry, little lady...forgot." He shrugged his shoulders, flashed a huge cheeky grin and held out his hand. "Elliot Grey." She immediately shook his hand and gave back an equally cheeky grin. "Ana Steele." Although she liked Elliot, she didn't let their touch linger and removed her hand after a second or too.

"Little ball of fire, aren'tcha? Wish I could hug you…" He leaned in close and whispered "but I'll just get extra from your bestie." She giggled and he chucked as he made his way back to his seat.

"So, what is it that you do? Must be something kick ass if you can punch like that and afford a place like this?" Elliot asked her whilst he sat with his arm around the back of her friends chair. Uh, more about her past. But she guessed that's what happens in a regular conversation: people talk.

"I suppose I do quite a few things now. You'll be proud, Jay." She quickly smiled at his questioning eyes before getting back to talking. "Have you ever heard of The Combatives?" She asked the room. When she saw most of the room nod, apart from Elliot and Mr Grey who held confused expressions she was shocked. The fact that Elliot didn't know didn't shock her, but that Mr Grey didn't. A man with a massive security team, most of them probably ex army. "But Mr Grey...is that not one of your conditions when you hire someone? Combatives training?" She asked him in confusion. It's Jay that answers her question.

"I hired my team, Rosie." Now she's not confused, just mad.

"You mean that you hired your team to protect your boss on the grounds of training from my school, but didn't think to tell your boss what the hell it is? What, don't you think it's an important condition? Do you even look for that at all?!" In the middle of the sentence, Ryan and Bass both gasped. Obviously shocked to find out that she was that Steele.

"Ange-"

"Don't you dare 'Angel' me, Taylor!" She shouts, making everyone in the room jump and Jay to sit staring at his lap, obviously ashamed. From the corner of her eye she notices Mr Grey stand from his chair making her gaze move onto him. He coughed nervously before speaking.

"It's not Taylor's fault that I don't know Miss Steele, I just gave him the rains on the hiring because I trust him. And honestly, I'm too busy to even know what's necessary when hiring a team able enough. Please, I'd like to know."

Now feeling like a complete idiot, she made her way around the table to where Jay was sitting still staring into his lap. Using her hand, she gently pulled his face up to look at her. She kissed the tip of his nose and whispered a 'sorry'. He quickly pulled her into his lap and held her close. Feeling safe in his hold she decided to have the rest of the conversation from here.

"The Combatives is a U.S army school which teachers quick, effective and simple techniques for fighting with or without a firearm. My Father was a Sergeant First Class and he established the school 2001 with the support of Mr Taylor over here. When I was 13, Jay and my Father taught me everything that they taught at the school. When I was 16 I'd learnt everything that I could from Jay and my Father and then the three of us worked together on the school. When my Father died when I was 19, I took full rains of the school which I'm still doing right now." Finishing her story, she laid another kiss on Jay's nose making him smile. People wouldn't think anything of the little kiss, but to her it's a big sign of trust.

"That explains one of the things that you do, you said you do quite a few?" Said Mr Grey to her left. She turned her attention back to the room where she told them even more information about herself.

"I moved to Seattle when I was 19 and started up a shelter for abused women and their children. It's still going really well and we've helped a lot of families." She smiled when Jay kissed the side of her head as a sign that he is in fact proud. She carried on. "I completely fund the shelter myself from the profits my club makes."

"'Steele', the name of the club. I should have guessed when we exchanged names." Mr Grey said more to himself than to anyone else.

"Yep." She said and smiled, she was really proud of her achievements and she hoped that her father was too.

Jay suddenly lifted her off of his lap and stood himself.

"Boss, sorry to be blunt but tonight's been a big night for everyone and I think we should leave so that everyone can get some rest, it is really late after all." Inside she was cheering for the fact that she was going to have all of these people out of her house, but sad at the same time because that meant that Jay had to leave too.

"You're probably right, Taylor." He said standing up, followed by everyone else. At the sudden movement she moved herself from the side of the table to the end.

She walked to the door and opened it for everyone to leave. The security guards saluted her as they left, which she quickly returned. Elliot made it look like he was going just shake her hand before diving in to kiss her cheek and running out of the way in case she was going to swing at him again. All she did was laugh at his behaviour as she was ready for some funny business from him. Next, Mr Grey was in front of her ready to say his goodbyes. From this angle, she noticed the small scuff on his chin caused by her Louboutins. She slowly raised her hand to his face, just like in the bedroom to softly caress the mark on his chin before dropping her hand.

"I'm so sorry about that, Mr Grey." She said softly, looking into those amazing grey eyes.

"Please, call me Christian." She felt her cheeks flush and she giggled as he used her line. He smiled in response and slowly brought his hand up to gently fun his finger down her pinkened cheek.

"Thank you for allowing us into your home, Anastasia." No-one ever calls her that, but strangely she liked it coming from him.

"It was the least I could do, Christian." Even though it wasn't necessary, she wanted to say his name. Again very slowly, he inclined his head down towards her and gently kissed her cheek. Though she clenched her fists behind her back, it wasn't an unpleasant experience. She expected the feeling of rage to fill her at the touch, but instead she felt a small tingling feeling where his lips met her skin.

"Feel free to visit the penthouse any time you wish to see Taylor, I'll get him to give you the address and codes to the elevator. Bye, Anastasia." With that he left too.

That just left her, Jay and Kate in the apartment. She ran up to Jay and squeezed him in a massive hug, which he eagerly returned. She took his phone, typed her number in and then pressed call so that she'd have his number. He promised to call her in the morning to check in with her. With one last hug and a kiss on his nose he left too. The apartment felt empty, but comfortable now that it was just her and Kate. After locking the door and checking it twice, she turned to her friend and smiled nervously.

"I'm really sorry about all of that."

"No problem! Did you see how hot Elliot was? AND he asked me for my number too!" She giggled at her over excited friend and grabbed her hand, pulling her from the door and down the corridor to their bedrooms.

"I'm beat. Talk tomorrow?" She said to her friend who was now looking nervously at her feet.

"Sure, Ana. Night." She said in a small voice. Ana was trying to think of a reason as to why her friend was acting like this and then she remembered. She wanted another kiss. She felt brave after her reconnection with Jay so she reached out to her friend and gave her an awkward one arm hug, making sure not to make too much body contact to freak her out. Kate gasped and tears appeared instantly in her eyes. After removing her arm she quickly pecked her friends mouth, smiling at how happy she looked.

"Night, bestie." She whispered before disappearing into her bedroom for the night. Once in her bed she couldn't help but feel a little proud of herself for not being a complete mess tonight and confused at the tingle that she could still feel lingering on her cheek from Christian's lips.

**A/N -** Gonna leave it there...it is over 3000 words though! Hope that it was up to all of your standards. I do have plans for the next chapter which I'm going to start writing up tomorrow on my day off to get up hopefully in the next few days. Have to point out how weird my playlist has been whilst writing this story, if you want to know some of the songs that I listened to the most just let me know :) If you have any suggestions please do let me know...ideas are always welcome! Don't forget to review! :)

**Lots of love…**

**Daisy xo**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N -** After finishing the last chapter I just had loads of ideas to where I wanted to take the next one which is why this chapter is up so fast :) Hope you enjoy it!

**ChristinanaAnaLeddie -** Haha, love that...BAB. Well she definitely is :P I don't think I've read a story on here where they have such a strong connection so hopefully I can tell that story well for you :) Yeah, you can kind of see where their connection comes from in this story and how they can relate to each other :) All will come out eventually! :D

**titch553 -** Hopefully that's a good thing :P Glad that you're liking it...hopefully you'll continue to read as I add more chapters :)

**Grey Steele Fan -** I know! Hopefully I won't have to make you wait that long again :P Hehe, I know...stupid Taylor. But they will have more little moments that will lead to bigger moments :D They are quite random but you'll see why she owns both as the story progresses :)

Chapter 5

Ana woke up from a terrible nights sleep. Not only did she suffer having to live through the memories of her past, she wasn't alone in them. Next to her the whole time was a little copper haired, gray eyed boy being subjected to the abuse that had tormented her. She heard his screams and his pleas for the pain to stop, but she just couldn't wake up. After what seemed like hours stuck in her dream, she woke up screaming and covered in sweat. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut and focused on her breathing. _Breathe in for three, hold for three, breathe out for three_. She did what her daddy taught her until her breathing was back under control. Turning her head she looked at the clock on her set of drawers. _7:14 am_. Damn, she was stuck in her nightmare for hours. That had never happened before, she'd always woken herself up screaming or thrashing about. She knew who that little boy in her dream was as soon as he'd turned to look into her eyes, it made the dream seem a thousand times worse. She suddenly felt the need to know that he was okay. Maybe the dream was a sign that he wasn't. Shaking her head from that thought she decided it was time for her to make a move.

After getting out of bed and stripping her sheets that were not damp with the sweat from her nightmare, Ana made her way through her wardrobe and to her bathroom. It felt good to wash away the night, sort of like she was cleansing her mind of all the bad things that had been swirling through it. After showering, drying her hair and applying some mascara and blush, Ana picked out her daisy print jersey playsuit to wear for the day. It had long sleeves and a full body so she didn't have to worry about people seeing her scars in the daylight. With her playsuit she chose a pair of shoe boots with lace detailing down the sides and a nude clutch. She didn't have any plans for the day so far to need a clutch, but she was sure that she'd find something to do.

When she walked out of her bedroom she was surprised at the glorious smell of breakfast food coming from the kitchen. She was even more surprised to see Kate busy serving out the food from their favorite breakfast restaurant, fully dressed and singing to herself. She was expecting to cook breakfast herself after waking a cranky Kate, but this was so much better. Kate finally noticed her as she went to remove the takeout boxes from the breakfast bar.

"Morning! I got us breakfast and made you your tea so you just sit down and enjoy!" Kate said, beaming at her.

"Not that I don't like seeing you like this or anything...but why are you so happy?" She asked, confused. Kate rolled her eyes.

"After yesterday, how can't I be this happy?" After still looking confused, her friend continued. "First you kiss me, which is the first time you've touched me anywhere other than my hands. Second, Elliot gave me his number and was totally flirting with me all night last night. Thirdly, you freaking hugged me! AND I got a second kiss. Oh and the icing on the cake? Elliot text me good morning! I have every right to be this happy and get us breakfast, so sit." She finished her rant, pointing to one of the stools at the breakfast bar.

She complied and was soon joined by her friend where they both stuck in to pancakes, bacon and syrup. Ana drinking tea and Kate coffee. After a few seconds of enjoying her breakfast she answered her friend.

"I'm just glad that I can make you happy...with the addition of Elliot of course. Did you text him back?" She wondered, making conversation with her best friend.

"Well, I didn't want to seem to eager so I've distracted myself by getting us breakfast and I'm going to as soon as we're finished. What shall I say?" Ana had to giggle at her friend.

"I don't know, how about 'Good morning to you too, how's the jaw?" At that they both burst out laughing.

After a few minutes they were both wiping tears from their eyes.

"It's moments like that that make me glad I met you, Steele." Kate smiled at her friend who returned the gesture. She was always uncomfortable when her friend was like this, she felt that Kate had given her so much when she was alone and all she's done is take.

"Don't get all soppy on me now, Kavanaugh. Go text your boyfriend." She giggled at the last part and winked at her friend who giggled and made her way back to her room.

After she finished her breakfast, she washed the dishes from breakfast and from last nights last minute dinner. Her thoughts once again strayed to Christian and her dream. She couldn't believe that he'd been through what she had. Jay had assured her that it wasn't as much abuse or for as long as she'd suffered from it, but did that really matter? She didn't think that she'd be any different if the abuse lasted for a few years rather than the amount that it did. She saw how it affected his life, with all of the security. But then that made her wonder, who was he? He must be well off to be able to hire Jay as his head of security and a whole team. She'd have to ask Jay.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the intercom ringing. She wondered what they could want in the lobby as she made her way around the breakfast bar and to the phone by the front door.

"Hello, Ana speaking." She said into the handset.

"Miss Steele, good morning. This is Jennifer speaking. There were a few packages delivered here for you this morning. Would you like me to send them up?" That made her confused, she didn't order anything and Jennifer said that the packages were for her which meant Kate didn't either.

"I didn't order anything, can you tell what it is?" She cautiously asked.

"Well I'd say they're from an admirer, Miss Steele." Giggle. "There's a rather large bouquet of flowers and quite a large box." An admirer? She didn't think so. They're probably from Jay, she thought to herself.

"Erm...okay, send them up."

She heard the four beeps of the alarm system that alerted her that the packages were on their way so she waited until the knock came at her door. She allowed only the manager of the hotel and Jennifer from the front desk to know the code to the elevator in case of emergencies so she knew that it was going to be one of them. When the knock came at the door, she opened it to a smiling Jennifer struggling with trying to hold the flowers and the box. She quickly took the flowers from her and put them on the breakfast bar. She then went to the door and took the rather large rectangle box from her.

"Sorry that you had to struggle all the way up here with those, Jennifer."

"No problem, have a good day Miss Steele."

"You too." She smiled as she shut and locked the door.

She carried the box over to the breakfast bar and looked at it. What the hell had Jay sent her? He should know that she doesn't like to be bought things, or maybe he needed reminding. She jumped when she heard a scream coming from Kate's room. She ran as fast as she could, charging through the door of her friends room to see what was wrong to find her stood on her bed jumping up and down with her phone in her hand squealing.

"Kate! You scared the shit out of me!" She shouted, holding her chest. Her friend stopped her bouncing and landed on her bum with a thump.

"I'm sorry Ana, I'm just so excited!" Her friends expression of pure happiness made her smile too.

"Why, what happened?"

"I text Elliot back saying 'Good Morning.' and then he text back and asked me out on a date!" She was shocked. Boy he moves fast!

"So...where's he taking you?"

"I'm not sure, I haven't asked yet. Oh I heard the intercom ringing, what did they want?" The ever curious Kate asks.

"I got some flowers and a package, don't know what it is yet though...your screaming distracted me." She giggled.

"Well, what are we waiting for! Let's see what you got and who they're from!" She jumped off the bed and grabbed Ana's hand on the way to the kitchen.

Under Kate's watchful eye, Ana peeled off the brown paper from around the box and removed the lid. On top of what seemed like some piece of blue clothing was a note in the neatest handwriting, which read.

_Anastasia_

_Please do me the honour of accompanying me to my parents annual Coping Together Charity ball. It is a charity that is close to my heart, for reasons which you can relate to and it would mean a lot to me if you came. I took the honours of picking out a dress for you. Please let me know if you are able to attend._

_Christian Grey_

She was shocked. Christian wanted her to be his date to his parents event. Kate took the card from her hand and quickly read it, smiling like a lunatic. Then her phone beeped alerting her of a text and the card was forgotten. Ana picked the card back up and reread the words. Close to his heart. Well she couldn't really say no to that could she? She turned the card over and saw his number and email address hand written on the back. She jumped again as Kate squealed next to her again. She looked at her friend, with an eyebrow raised in questioning.

"He asked me to the ball too! Please tell me you're going...it'll be fun...please?" Kate asked her with puppydog eyes. Now she definitely couldn't say no.

"If it'll make you happy, then I'll go."

"Oh, don't pretend that you're going for me. I saw you smiling when you read that card." Kate was right, she did want to go.

"You're right, I do." She quietly admitted as she pulled the dress from the box. Oh, my. It was absolutely beautiful. It was an elegant strapless sweetheart evening gown in navy that had an embellished bodice with sparkling beaded applique. The material of the dress felt like real silk, making it look really expensive, which it probably was.

"Ana...it's beautiful." She heard Kate hisper next to her.

"I know...but it has no arms." She whispered, more to herself then her friend. "Kate, I can't wear it if it doesn't at least have small sleeves." She was so disappointed in herself. The dress was so beautiful, she just didn't have the body to match due to her scars.

"Ana, there's a shawl in there. Just leave that on and you can wear it." Kate pointed out. She let out the breath that she was holding when she too noticed the shawl in the bottom of the box.

"But you know what this means, right?" Kate asked. She shook her head, no. "We have to go shopping of course! I need a dress and we both need shoes and accessories."

"Okay, just let me go and let him know I'm going too and I'll meet you back here."

She left the kitchen with the dress in the hands. She hung it up straight away, afraid that she might crease it. After she'd put her dress in her wardrobe, she pulled out her phone. Oh crap. What would Jay say about this? Did Christian ask him? She'd better find out. She searched for his number and pressed call.

"Rosie, I was just about to call you." He said in a cheerful tone.

"Morning, Jay. I got a package today." She decided to tell him first...ease him into it.

"I know, I delivered it." She heard him chuckle. She was shocked.

"So you know that Christian asked me to go to the ball with him?"

"Of course I do, he asked me if it was okay." Phew!

"So, you're okay with it?" She had to make sure.

"Well I wasn't at first until he told me that his intentions with you were pure…" Oh, god how embarrassing. "and that there would be people there that would be interested in your shelter. Oh, and I have a surprise for you there. I'll be working, but I'm sure you'll find it yourself." Okay, so now she was confused. "So feel free to let the boss know you're going, you have my blessing Angel." She smiled, he was so cute.

"As curious as I am to know what this surprise is, I know I won't get it out of you so I'm not even going to ask. Thank you for not being mad about this, I love you, bye."

"Love you too, Rosie."

Okay, now for the tough part. Text, call or email? She chose email.

**To:** Christian Grey

**Subject:** Ball

**From:** Anastasia Steele

**Date:** 5/10/13 9:23

I didn't know how you'd prefer me to contact you so I just guessed and chose email. Hope that's okay. I would love to accompany you to the ball, thank you for the invitation. Also, thank you for the dress and flowers they are absolutely beautiful, though you shouldn't have gone to the trouble. What time shall I be ready for?

Anastasia Steele.

She dropped her phone into her clutch and made her way out of the bedroom. When she reached the kitchen she heard her phone ping. He couldn't have emailed her back already, could he? She took out her phone and saw that he had in fact emailed her back.

**To: **Anastasia Steele

**Subject:** Ball

**From:** Christian Grey

**Date:** 5/10/13 9:25

Email is fine, feel free to save my number too though. I couldn't think of anyone I'd rather go with so thank you for accepting the invitation. They were really no trouble at all, and a beautiful lady like you deserves beautiful things. I will pick you up at 6:30 as we need to be there for 7:00. Have a good day, Anastasia.

Christian Grey.

She was smiling like a lunatic after reading the email. He think's she's beautiful. Now all she had to do was endure a day's shopping with Kate until she get's to wear that magnificent dress and see Christian again.

**A/N -** Next chapter will be the ball! Will try my best to get it up within the next few days, but I'm not sure how busy my weekend will be. Please review so I know you're still interested in my story! :)

**Lots of love…**

**Daisy xo**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N -** Actually couldn't wait to write this chapter, so here I am...starting to write it 4 hours after finishing the last one :P Hope you like it!

I read all of your reviews and they all make me smile :) I don't like to babble on my A/N which is why I don't write a reply to all of them, hope you guys don't mind!

**redsoxangel20 -** Thank you! I'm glad that my thoughts are being portrayed right :) Hopefully you'll be surprised too :P

**fiat124girl -** They will have a lot of work to do, believe me :P I think you're worse than me with how you're thinking, girl! Maybe you need to check out my other story ;) I thought that their pasts would make it easier for them to trust each other too :) Thank you for your nice comments too :D

**Grey Steele Fan -** I love your interpretation on the dream, it's not the last you'll hear of it so keep an eye out :P I wanted to make Kate less 'in your face' in this story. I usually find her annoying lol :P

**MrsLeona -** Thank you very much :) Everyone loves Christian's soft side, right? Hopefully you won't have to long to wait to see what type of connection they will have :)

Chapter 6

Ana collapsed on the couch after a long days shopping with Kate. She should have known that they would have ended up shopping for more than a dress and accessories...it was Kate after all. After they'd found a dress for Kate and shoes and accessories for them both, Ana thought that she'd treat Kate to lunch and then return home to relax with her guitar. But no. After lunch Kate had dragged her around for hours buying more clothes, make-up and underwear. She liked getting new things, but shopping was hard on her due to her phobia. It was a Saturday which meant that everywhere was busy. It was a good thing she decided on long sleeves as there were numerous people that brushed by her, she'd have hated it if she'd lashed out at any of them. All she wanted to do now was soak in her tub and relax for a while before she had to get ready for the evening.

Sighing, she stood and picked up her bags from the floor. Kate had headed straight to her room as soon as they'd arrived home, no doubt to try everything on again and rearrange her wardrobe to fit her new additions. She glanced at the clock on the wall and gasped. _5:07pm_. She had less than an hour and a half to get ready. It was a good thing she'd washed her hair this morning otherwise it would have been impossible for her to get ready in time. At least now all she had to do was take a quick shower and get ready. So much for that soak in her tub.

Before she walked into her bedroom she knocked on Kate's door and shouted to Kate.

"You do realise the time, right Katie?" All she got in reply to that was a squeal and the sound of her bathroom door slamming shut. She was giggling as she made her way into her bedroom to start to get ready.

Once showering, Ana took her Coconut Beautifying Oil and applied it all over her body. She loved how smooth it made her skin, the smell was just a bonus. She chose a strapless navy blue bra and matching thong to wear under her dress to make sure that nothing could be seen through the silky material. In her underwear she moved to sit at her vanity table where she quickly painted her fingernails and toenails in a shimmery nude colour. Whilst they were drying she carefully applied her make-up. She chose to do a smokey eye, using different shades of blue and gold to match her dress. She applied her pink blush and nude lipstick to finish off her make-up. She made sure her nails were dry before she started on her hair. She used her thick barreled curling wand to make her hair fall in big waves. She then moved the hair to one side and secured it in the back with bobby pins.

Looking at herself in the mirror, she was happy with the results. As a result of her phobia, she had to learn to do most of her grooming herself. She'd learned what type of makeup looks best on her and she'd taught herself how to wax and do her nails. That was one of the reasons why her chocolate brown hair went down to her waist, she hated for someone to be that close to her whilst cutting her hair, so she only got her hair cut when it was absolutely necessary. She looked at her phone and saw the time. _6:12pm_. Crap. She needed to get dressed.

She rushed into her bedroom, grabbing her dress on the way. She put on her shoes first, she'd chosen a pair of gold sandals with a really thin heel and thin straps. She felt that the dress had enough detail on it and she needed to keep her shoes simple. After they were in place she stepped into her dress, careful not to get her heels caught on the fabric. She then reached into her shopping bags and pulled out her jewelry and put it on. She'd chosen a pair of hollow gold drop earrings with a leaf design and matching necklace and bracelet to match. They were simple, but she didn't want to get anything to 'in your face'.

Finally ready she turned and looked at herself in the mirror. She was shocked. She'd never dressed up like this before. The most that she'd dressed up was whenever she went out with Kate and it was never like this. Turning this was and that she took herself in. If she had to pick a dress for herself, it wouldn't have been this one. You could see the top part of her cleavage and the bodice showed her small waist and big hips. But she was glad. She felt really feminine in this dress and it was a nice feeling. She was too used to being in her gym gear, sweating and fighting and it was time that she got to feel like the woman that she was.

She heard the intercom ringing so she grabbed her gold clutch and made her way from her bedroom and to the phone.

"Hello, Ana speaking." She answered, her voice shaking from her nerves. She coughed to try to strengthen her voice.

"Good afternoon Miss Steele, Jennifer here. There's a Christian and Elliot Grey here. They said that you were expecting them." Oh, god. Was she ready for this? What would she do if someone asked her to dance? If Christian asked her to dance? She'd feel terrible having to say no to anyone.

"Miss Steele?"

"Oh, sorry. Would you let them know that we'll be right down?"

"No problem at all, Miss Steele."

Thank you, Jennifer."

She hung up and walked to Kate's room. She knocked on the door and it swung open to a smiling Kate.

"Oh, Kate. You look absolutely breathtaking." She said, looking at her friend. She'd chosen a deep green one shoulder dress that brought out the green in her eyes and contrasted well with her strawberry blonde hair which she'd twisted up in what looked like a complicated, but pretty knot.

"Me? Ana, I've never seen you look like this. You look amazing." Her friend smiled.

"Thanks…" She said shyly looking at her hands. "Jennifer called, they're waiting for us downstairs so we'd better get going."

"Sure, let me just grab my purse."

They made their way out of their apartment together and Ana locked the door, making sure to check it twice before they entered the elevator. Kate must have seen her nerves as she felt her friends hand slide into her own. She looked to her friend and smiled a grateful smile for the support. The elevator ride usually seems to take forever to get down to the lobby, but tonight it hardly seemed like any time went by at all.

All too soon the elevator doors opened to the lobby and to the Grey Brothers. Both men stood as they started walking to them. She couldn't seem to take her eyes off of Christian, damn he looked so good in his tux. She didn't realise that she was stood in front of them, staring at him until Kate squeezed her hand. She felt the blush on her cheeks as she looked away from him and to her friend. Kate smiled at her in encouragement but all she felt was fear.

Her friend turned around to face her, leaning in to press a kiss on her cheek and to whisper.

"You'll be fine, Ana." She felt her hand on her arm and gasped, taking a few quick steps back. Bare skin. Kate had touched her bare skin. Crap! She'd forgotten to pick up the shawl! Crap, crap, crap! She was now looking into her friends panicked eyes and it was obvious that she knew her mistake. She took a deep breath to rain in the panic that she could feel coursing through her body. Her eyes flickered to Christian and the panic seemed to melt away. He was looking at her in understanding. Taking another deep breath, she took the few steps forward to stand in front of her friend. She brought her hand up and tucked a piece of stray hair behind her ear.

"I'm sorry, Katie. I just wasn't ready."

"It's okay, it was my fault. Want me to go back up and get your shawl?" She thought hard about it and her mind went back to how she'd looked at herself in the mirror. She'd liked what she saw, and the scars that were dotted about her arms didn't even come to mind as she took in her reflection.

"No I'll be fine, thank you." She smiled at her friends shocked face.

Once again looking towards Christian she decided to just face tonight head on and see where it took her.

"Good afternoon, Christian. Sorry about that." She spoke shyly, feeling that betraying blush spread across her cheeks. He smiled widely in return.

"It is no problem at all. You look absolutely beautiful, and the dress is perfect for you." He said looking her up and down. She only felt her blush intensify. "Shall we?" He said sticking out his elbow to her. _Face tonight head on, Steele_. She thought to herself before lightly placing just the tips of her fingers in the crevice of his elbow._ Just breathe like your daddy taught you and you'll be fine_. She told herself as they made their way out to the cars. Kate and Elliot headed to one and they headed to another.

Like the gentleman he probably was, Christian held open the door for her as she climbed into the back of his SUV. She looked up and saw Jay in the driving seat. He just looked in the rearview mirror and winked at her. She quickly leaned through the gap between the two front seats and kissed the tip of his nose. Christian walked around to the other side and climbed in beside her. She was careful enough to leave a small gap between them but she could still feel the heat from his thigh next to hers. He was the first to break the silence.

"I was surprised but glad that you accepted my invitation for tonight, I didn't exactly come across as a nice guy last night." She turned to look at him.

"I was actually surprised you asked me, who knew that drop kicking someone in the jaw and then unloading all of your baggage on them could earn you a great dress and an invitation to a ball?"

He tipped his head back and laughed causing her to giggle too. Her giggle was cut short and a gasp took it's place when she saw the dark bruise under his chin. Oh crap, her and her temper. She reached her hand out and again stopped when she realised she was about to touch him. She raised her eyes to him in questioning and he just nodded. She once again caressed the place where she kicked.

"I'm so sorry about that, I didn't mean to leave a mark let alone one so noticeable." She said after placing her hand back in her lap.

"It's okay, it doesn't even hurt. I should probably let you know that my haphephobia is limited to my chest and back. You don't have to fear touching me anywhere else." He said, smiling at her.

"I'm sorry that I can't give you some guidelines...from what I can tell, the more that I trust someone the more that they can touch me. I trust Jay with my life, same as I did my Father, which I think is why they could touch me freely." She told him, trying to help him understand her issues a little better.

"Well then, I'll just take my cues from you. That way you won't have to be so cautious and I won't get another kick in the chin." He said the last part with a wink, causing her to giggle. Knowing what he just told her allowed her to relax more.

Things were silent for a few more minutes until he once again broke the silence.

"So...you and Kate?"

"Um, what about me and Kate?" She asked, confused. It seemed to take him a while to speak again and when he did it was fast and all in one breath.

"Well I guess I was just wondering if you guys are together...or just like seeing each other?" She couldn't help it she burst out laughing, holding onto her stomach as her laugher rocked her. She heard Jay chuckle from the front seat.

"What?" Christian asked, blushing slightly. That made her laughter die down to mere giggles.

"I'm not together with Kate in any way at all, she's my best friend. What gave you that idea?"

"Well, I saw you kiss her outside of your club. And then she asked for a kiss at the dining table last night. And then she kissed your cheek in the lobby. And -"

"Woah, slow down Christian. Katie can't touch me too much because I can't stand it and last night was the first time I kissed her. I didn't do it out of anything other than friendship. She was freaking out...I'd just been hugging Jay and not freaking out and she had no idea what was going on." He was still looking at me confused.

"But why did you kiss her?" He asked.

"Well, when you can't hug someone there's not many other ways to show affection." She shrugged and with that he seemed to understand. The rest of the journey they spent in a comfortable silence.

They pulled up to a huge mansion, the architecture of which was breathtaking. It reminded Ana of her old home. The one she shared with her Father and Jay.

"Fuck." She heard whispered to her left. She turned her head to Christian to see him with a worried look on his face.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"I didn't think this through. When we walk in there will be press there taking pictures and stuff. Will you be okay with that?" She nervously glanced at Jay who just nodded his head in approval.

"Can they touch me?" Her voice came out shaky and she coughed once again trying to hide it.

"Angel…" She heard Jay's soft deep voice and it calmed her. He must have been worried about how her voice sounded.

"They're behind a barrier, so no." He said, looking at her face intently. If Jay wasn't there to offer his approval of the situation then she'd have probably said no.

"Um, sure." At her reply he smiled a big smile.

"Good, because we're here." He said, still smiling.

He got out of his side of the SUV whilst Jay came around and opened her door for her. She carefully stepped out and hugged him tight, kissing the tip of his nose again.

"Thank you for that." She smiled.

"It's no problem. You look gorgeous, go and have fun, Angel." He said giving his own small smile back. Ana turned and saw Christian waiting for her, still smiling. She walked up to him and when he didn't make any move to touch her she took a deep breath and slipped her hand into his. As they walked up to the front of the mansion she asked.

"Why are you smiling so much?"

"I just realised that I'm going to have my picture taken with you." He said smiling.

"And why does that make you smile so big?" She wondered out loud.

"Because I've never had my picture taken with any woman other than my Mother and Sister." He said smiling. She was really confused now, but she decided that she'd asked too many questions already. So she remained silent as they walked the rest of the journey to the front of the house.

Her grip tightened around Christian's hand as they made their way to the press. He looked down at her and squeezed her hand back in return. She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. She looked up to Christian and gave him a big smile which he returned.

She couldn't deny that she panicked a little as soon as they stepped in front of the press but a hand squeeze and smile from Christian put her at least a little at ease. Once again she wondered who Christian was as all of the press's attention suddenly turned to him and her. Christian leaned her way but made sure not to touch her apart from her hand as he smiled for the cameras. She just stood and smiled up at him, admiring the big smile stretched across his face. They were shouting questions and taking pictures and she could feel herself beginning to panic. Christian must have seen this too as he quickly pulled her by the hand and away from the press.

"Are you okay?" She heard whispered to her.

"Yeah, it's just all new to me that's all." She replied as they made their way through the house and out to the marquee in the back. It was decorated amazingly with huge round tables and expensive looking crystal.

They made their way through the marquee being stopped by people every few steps so that they could talk to Christian. She had to remember to ask him why he was so popular. I mean, she knew that this was his parent's event, but that didn't mean that everyone here should know who he is, right? When the people came over, Christian kept hold of her hand, even when people wanted to shake his. It was comforting to her to know that she wasn't alone in this massive room full of people. She smiled and greeted all of the people that she met, but she couldn't remember half of their names. They were interrupted by Jay, which she was glad of. Talk about business was boring as hell. She smiled at him in greeting and kissed his nose.

"Rosie, Mr Grey." He smiled at her and nodded to Christian. "My surprise is just over there, boss. Do you mind?" He asked and now she was really curious. This surprise had been bugging her all day and she couldn't for the life of her think of what it could be.

"Not at all, Taylor. Lead the way." Christian answered. They both followed closely behind Jay as he lead the way quickly through the crowd, too quickly for anyone else to stop them on the way. Ana found herself stood in front of what looked like a couple stood with their backs to her, their arms around each other.

"Taylor? What the hell?" Christian asked, confused. Jay just smiled down at her before addressing the couple.

"Mr and Mrs Grey?" She was shocked, and now nervous. What the hell was he thinking?! But when the couple turned around she knew exactly what he was doing.

The couple gasped as they realised who it was that was stood in front of them.

"Carrie?! Gracie?!" She screeched.

"Ana!" They both called back. She didn't waste any more time, she dropped Christian's hand and flew herself into the arms of Carrie and Gracie. They both pulled her in and held her close, kissing her head. After a few seconds they all pulled back, just enough to see each others faces.

"Oh, Ana. Sweet girl, I didn't think I'd ever see you again." Gracie said to her as she wiped a tear from her cheek.

"Ana Rose, I'd know those eyes anywhere." Carrie said, pulling her close and placing a kiss on her forehead.

"I missed you guy's so much, I just didn't know how to find you. Seems like everyone I care about was here is Seattle this whole time." She giggled and looked towards Jay giving him a big smile.

"How have you been, Ana...they treating you right at the school?" Carrie asked, still holding her close.

"Of course they are, I sign their paychecks." She replied as she leaned up to place a small kiss on his nose. He smiled big in return. She then moved from his arms and into Gracies to give her a big hug and a kiss on the nose. They were interrupted by Christian.

"Does someone want to tell me what the fuck is happening?"

**A/N -** Just over 3000 words so I'm going to leave it there :) Hope you all like it and are excited for the next chapter! Please review and let me know if you liked the ball so far! :)

**Lots of love…**

**Daisy xo**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N -** Sorry that I haven't updated earlier this week, I've had classes and household things to do that couldn't be put off any longer! Thought that I'd let you know that my updates are likely to be at the end of the week like this one, or during the weekend. Hope you enjoy this chapter guys! Oh..sorry if there's any mistakes!

**ObssessedMuch13 -** I'm glad that you like my story, girl! You have some good idea's there, you're just going to have to read this chapter and find out aren't you?

**Grey Steele fan -** I'm sorry that I left you so confused! Keeps you interested though, right? ;) All will be explained I promise :P

**AvonLou -** Your review made me smile so much! You're too kind! Hopefully I can keep it up :)

Chapter 7

_They were interrupted by Christian._

_"Does someone want to tell me what the fuck is happening?"_

Everyone seemed to freeze. She was just now realising what was happening in front of her. Carrie and Gracie, the amazing people that helped save her were Christian's parents. He had a right to know how they all know each other and she knew that neither Carrie or Gracie were allowed to tell him for confidentiality reasons.

She took a deep breath before turning around to face Christian. He looked confused and frustrated as his eyes swept from person to person looking for his answer. It was Carrie that broke the silence.

"We can't tell you son." The frustration in Christian's eyes soon turned to anger.

"And why the fuck not?" He fumed.

"Language Christian!" Gracie reprimanded him.

"Sorry mom, but christ!..." Before he could go any further she thought it best to step in and explain herself.

"Christian...will you take a walk with me?" When she saw his reluctance she carried on "I promise, I'll tell you what you want to know." Taking one more look around the group of people before settling his eyes back on her he nodded his head. She reached forward and took his hand in hers again to allow him to guide her through the marquee and out to the grounds.

They had walked down from the marquee to the water at the bottom of the grounds. Both were silent, watching the ripples on the water. Ana trying to think of a way to tell Christian everything and Christian trying to calm his temper from being kept in the dark once again. She walked forward onto the dock over the water, sat over the edge, took her shoes off and put her feet in the water. She patted the space at the side of her and watched as Christian copied her previous movements and put his feet in the water. She took a deep breath and begun her life story.

"My mother and Father were never together, my Father was home on leave and was with my Mother for just one night. She didn't tell him was pregnant with me and he wasn't around to see it for himself. The next time my Father was on leave, he saw my Mother when she was pregnant with me and she told him that the baby wasn't his and that was that.

I think that I was about 6 months old when my Mother finally told my Father that I was his, and it was only because she needed money to fuel her habit. My Fathers name wasn't on my birth certificate at the time so he didn't have a say in when I saw him, which apparently wasn't often. My Mother met her boyfriend when I was about 2 . He was an addict too. That's when the abuse started. They were both so angry all the time and they took it out on me. Most of the time they were too out of it to see the damage they were actually making. It got worse and worse and they started to leave visible marks like on my face and hands when I was about 8…"

"Jesus christ, Ana" Christian muttered.

"Please...let me get it all out and then we'll talk, okay?" When he nodded she continued her story.

"Because of the marks, my Mother stopped me from seeing my Father all together. After a few weeks, my Father came to our house to try to see me. My Mother, her boyfriend and My Father were all arguing and I was listening from the stairs. My Mother told my Father that if he didn't leave then she would call the police and tell them that he was harassing them and that she thought he was abusing me. The argument went on all night and in the end a few punches were thrown and my Father left, promising that he'd take me away from this awful place soon.

I remember being beat that night until I passed out and when I woke up, we were in a cheap motel and I had no idea what had happened. My Mothers boyfriend went out to the store to get some food and drink and she told me that we couldn't live where we were anymore because of me and that I had to be a good girl otherwise I'd get beat far worse than I've ever been beat before. We were running from my Father. He was high up in the army with a lot of contacts and it would have only been a matter of time before he would come to get me. We lived in motels for about a year I think until we moved into a small flat. People used to call my Mother and boyfriend by a different name there so that my Father wouldn't find us. We only stayed in each flat for a few months before we'd move to a different town.

The older I got, the more I wondered why my Mother was going to all the trouble of trying to keep me. I found out later that my Mothers boyfriend was wanted for raping someone back in the town where we first lived and that my Father was giving my Mother money every month to support me. It didn't, might I add. It only allowed them to continue running and with me in tow.

I was 13 when the police finally found us and it was only because I'd run away after being beat. I could hardly walk and kept on stumbling and falling every few steps and eventually I walked past a 24 hour mini mart. I went in and the manager called an ambulance and the police. I remember being sat in the office of the mini mart, wrapped in a towel and talking to the police woman, she asked for my Mothers name and I knew that I'd probably get beat for using her real name but I told her any way. They were both arrested that night and I asked them to call my Father. My Father and Jay came to me, a DNA test was carried out to prove he was my Father and that's when I met Carrie and Gracie.

My Father and Jay wanted the best person to care for me and apparently that was your Mother. She's such an angel, I couldn't help but trust her." She couldn't help the loving smile that crossed her face and when she looked over to Christian she saw the same smile mirrored on his face too. "It was your Mother that recommended your Father for my case. Apparently he doesn't usually take on cases like mine, but seeing as it was so close to your Mothers heart he said that he couldn't help himself.

A lot of my wounds were infected, so they needed cleaning regularly. Your Mother used to come over to our house every day to change my dressings and make sure that I was recovering okay and your Father came whenever he wasn't working. They were with me all through the trials and until I got fully better. Obviously they didn't come over to the house every day, but they came to see me at least once a week. Everything had to be kept private, NDA's were signed the first night I met your Mother and Father and they still stand today. That's why they can't talk about me to anyone, not that they would anyway.

After everything settled, me, my Father and Jay had to move back to the Combatives School. I think I saw Carrie and Gracie a few times over the next few years, but people just lose contact you know? Jay had to leave the school when I was 17, his ex wife just upped and moved with his daughter and he had to find her, then it was a massive battle of custody of Soph. I'm sure that my Father knew where he was, but he died when I was 19 before he told me so I had no way to find him. I stayed at the school for a few months, but I just felt so detached from everything. My granny lives in Seattle and told me that I could go live with her if needed family, which I did. I stayed with her for another few months and in that time I set up my shelter. I met Kate, we moved in together and I bought my club. I think you know the rest."

She looked over to him to see his eyes closed tightly, as if in pain. She reached out and put her hand on his arm.

"Hey, what's wrong?" She could feel him shaking next to her and when he opened his eyes to look at her, they were filled with tears. She gasped, shocked at the emotion showing across his beautiful face.

"You've been through so much." He whispered, looking intently into her eyes. "Yet you told your story with no emotion." She was caught in his gaze and spoke back to him in a soft whisper.

"I wouldn't be able to get through it otherwise. It's easier to just not feel. You more than anyone should understand that." He closed his eyes, making his tears fall and nodded his head. She found that her eyes were also filling with tears. She brought her other hand up and softly wiped away his tears.

"Don't waste your tears on me, I'll be fine" She used his words he'd spoken to her the previous night.

He opened his eyes and looked at her intensely.

"I've never had the desire to hug someone before, but I really wish I could hug you right now..." She hung her head, she was shaking just thinking about it. "and kiss you." It was whispered so quietly, she wasn't sure she heard him right. When she lifted her head she saw him staring at her lips. Oh, so she had heard him right. Oh crap, what should she do? She was usually with her Father, Jay or one of her guys when this happened and they turned them down for her. Fuck! The difference was that she actually liked him. But what type of relationship would they have with each other, not being able to touch? She couldn't offer him anything.

"I'm sorry that I can't touch you." She sighed heavily before continuing. "I feel close to you, Christian. I see the same pain in your eyes that's in mine. I couldn't bear it if I hurt you, which is why I can't let you touch me."

Frustrated with herself she stood quickly, picking up her shoes and storming back in the direction of the house. She'd just made it to the bundle of trees separating the main gardens from the water when she heard him behind her.

"Wait, Ana! Please!" She heard him call behind her. She stopped and turned to face him. He slowed down his walk as he took the last few steps to stand in front of her, gazing into her eyes the whole time.

"I feel it too. I feel close to you too, Ana. It's like I calm straight away when I look into your eyes. Like I won't be judged or misunderstood. It's like you get me. So please, don't walk away from me." He took another slow step forward. Her breath caught.

"I...I c-can't let you touch me, Christian." She stuttered. She watched as he looked down at her with a shy smile.

"Then you touch me." It was a quiet request and she could see the flush on his cheeks, showing how nervous he actually was.

Touch him. She'd been touching him all night, but she was sure that he didn't mean holding his hand. _Face tonight head on._ The statement she'd told herself earlier in the night swirled around and around her head. She could only try.

"Would you stand with your back on that tree?" She quietly asked, pointing to a tree just a few feet behind him.

"Uhm, sure." He said and made his way to lean against the tree. She followed and stood in front of him, giving herself enough room to not panic.

"Please don't touch me." She pleaded, slowly raising on her tiptoes until she could feel his breath on her face.

"I won't." Was breathed from Christian's lips. If she wasn't this close to him she would have never caught it.

They were both looking into each others eyes as Ana brought her face even closer. She watched as his eyelids fluttered closed just as she gently touched her lips to his. She kept her eyes open, making sure that he wasn't going to touch her. The tingles that she felt before when his lips touched her were nothing compared to this. Now, she felt full on sparks. She gasped at the feeling and took a few big steps back from him. She noticed how he still had his eyes closed and was breathing heavily.

"Did you feel that?" Came a husky whisper.

"Yes." She breathed. He opened his eyes, now dark from the effects of their quick kiss.

"It feels good whenever you touch me, Ana."

"I've never felt anything like that before."

"Me neither."

They just stood there, staring at each other in wonder for what seemed like forever when a cough from behind her broke their spell. She quickly spun around, dropping her shoes to the floor just in case she needed both hands. It was completely unnecessary of course, it was just Sawyer.

"Sorry to disturb you, Miss Ana, Mr Grey." He greeted, nodding to the both of them.

"What is it Sawyer?" Christian's irritated voice came from behind her. She moved so that she could see the both of them.

"Taylor sent me. You've been gone a while and the dance auction is about to start. You missed dinner, but Taylor said that you wouldn't mind." She giggled. Jay had sent Sawyer to come and get them, probably because he didn't want to see something a daddy should never see.

"Okay, we're coming now." Sawyer nodded and headed back up to the marquee.

Christian walked and stood beside her where they both put their shoes back on before walking back up to the marquee hand in hand, passing shy smiles along the way. She felt great. Absolutely great. She didn't freak out and it actually felt good to kiss Christian. There wasn't an ounce of anger within her when they touched, just that weird spark. Just as they entered back through the marquee, Katie and Elliot stepped in front of them.

"Hey, Ana! How amazing is it here!" Kate beamed at her.

"Hey little lady" Knowing what he was about to do, Ana caught Elliot's face in her hand, squishing his cheeks and making him pull the cutest pouty face which made her and Kate giggle. Hard. Elliot looked terrified of being caught out. She quickly leaned forward, turned his head and quick as ever kissed his cheek before letting him go.

"Got you that time Elliot." She said with a wink. Seeing that she was okay with him, he gave her a big smile.

"Next time, little lady, next time." He said shaking his head, laughing.

"The auction's about to start so lets head to our table." Christian said, pulling her by her hand to their table.

Carrie and Gracie were already sat down with a raven haired girl. As soon as she saw them she jumped up from her chair and squealed. Loudly.

"Christian!" She flung herself on him, knocking him back a few steps. Ana let go of his hand and took a few steps away from them. She didn't know who this girl was, but she couldn't risk her touching her.

"Oh my gosh! Mom said you brought a date, but she didn't say how pretty she was!" The girl who she now guessed was Christian's sister turned to her. "Hi! I'm Mia." She stepped towards her as if to hug her and Ana took the same amount of steps away from her.

"Mia! What did I tell you, just come and sit down!" Carries strong voice entered her already panicky mind and the girl said a quiet 'sorry' and made her way to the table. Ana saw Carrie say something to Mia, looking to be scolding her. She felt sorry for her so she walked up next to her chair and held her hand out for a shake.

"Sorry about that, Mia. I'm Ana, nice to meet you." Mia just smiled big at her and quickly shook her hand.

The rest of the night seemed to fly by. All of the Grey's Ana and Kate sat around their table watching the dance auction, giggling at the MC's remarks on all of the girls. Then they were all lost in conversation with each other, most of the time she was either talking to Christian or Carrie and Gracie. Her stomach was hurting from all the laughing she was doing. The two Grey brothers were damn good to watch whilst bickering. She took a second for herself to get a drink of water and looked around, trying to find Jay. She wished he could have been here as a guest rather than working. She gasped when she looked around the room, it was nearly empty. She hadn't noticed that nearly everyone had left, which was unusual for her and it made her feel a bit uneasy.

A few seconds later Jay was at her side, crouched down and looking into her eyes intently.

"What's wrong, Rosie? You're as white as a sheet." She nervously bit her bottom lip before replying.

"Nearly everyone's gone."

"It is getting late, Angel." Jay said confused. She whispered her reply, afraid of someone hearing her and thinking she was a freak.

"I didn't notice. This room was full of people and I didn't fucking notice that they were all nearly gone!" She was getting emotional, realising that she'd let herself down. A look of understanding came across his face.

"I'm here now, Rosie. You know I wouldn't let anything happen to you. You're here as a guest, you didn't have to notice, you just had to have fun. Don't beat yourself up about this, let me look after you." He pleaded to her.

"Is everything okay, Ana?" Christian asked from next to her, squeezing her hand which had been clasped in his most of the night. With a deep breath she smiled at Jay, kissed his nose and turned to address Christian.

"I'm fine, just a bit shocked that I didn't notice everyone leaving."

"What-" When he looked around, he knew what she was talking about and laughed out loud. She just looked at him in confusion and so did everyone else at the table. Rather than just addressing her, he spoke out to the whole table.

"I just now realised that I've never stayed at these things longer than a few hours and now here I am, after everyone has left." Everyone around the table gasped and looked around, they were obviously oblivious to everyone leaving too. The table once again erupted in laughter.

"I hope I'm not interrupting something" A voice came from behind her and chilled her spine instantly. She quickly turned in her chair to see an older blonde woman stood there smiling a false cold smile over at everyone.

"Elena." Christian greeted coldly.

"The event was a great success Grace, you should be very pleased with yourself."

"I am, we raised considerably more this year thanks to a very generous donation from Ana here" Her icy gaze turned towards Christian and she could have sworn the temperature instantly dropped. She didn't get a good feeling about this woman, and she'd learned to trust her instincts. They done her right so far.

"And who is this?" The ice woman spoke, still looking at Christian. She saw her eyes flicker to the hand that was held tightly by Christian's and her gaze suddenly got more harsh, although she kept the smile on her face.

"This is Anastasia, my date." Christian told her, a little harder than she thought necessary. She wondered what was going on between these two when the ice woman's gaze moved onto Ana. Her body went stiff and she sprung to her feet.

"Jay!" She shouted, surprising everyone at the table and the ice woman herself. He was there in a second.

"Rosie, what's wrong?" He asked her and put his hand on her bare arm. Obviously he could feel her shaking and the hairs standing on end.

"Calm down, Angel and tell me what's wrong." He said in alarm.

"Get her out of here." Ana said in anger, her gaze still stuck on the ice woman. She saw the woman look at her in shock before returning to her cool self.

"I don't know who you think you are, _Rosie_, but-" She couldn't help it, the woman had gone to far, calling her Rosie. She lunged forward, grabbing the woman's hands and twisting them behind her back effectively restraining her.

"I said get her OUT, Taylor!" She shouted and pushed the vile woman towards him. Unluckily, he caught her before she hit the ground and dragged her out of the marquee. Her screams following her all the way out.

Once she saw that the ice woman was all the way out of the marquee, she turned back to the table to see everyone looking at her in shock, their mouths hanging wide open. It was Christian that was the first to recover himself.

"Ana...what just happened?" He asked, confused.

**A/N -** Wow! That was a longer chapter so I hope it makes up for not updating quick enough! Why do you guy's think she reacted like she did towards Mrs Lincoln? Let me know!

**Lots of love…**

**Daisy xoxo**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N -** Thank you all so very much for all your nice reviews! It's nice to know that everyone hates Elena like I do, hehe! Some guesses were correct and some were nearly correct. You'll just have to read on to find out if you're right or not! Trying out something different in this chapter so hopefully it all works out well and it all flows.

Chapter 8

_Once she saw that the ice woman was all the way out of the marquee, she turned back to the table to see everyone looking at her in shock, their mouths hanging wide open. It was Christian that was the first to recover himself.  
"Ana...what just happened?" He asked, confused._

"Who is that woman?" Ana spat out, trying to rein in her anger.  
"What, you mean you don't know who she is?" Christian asked, still confused.  
"I wouldn't be asking if I did." She snapped at him and felt immediately guilty afterwards. "Sorry" She whispered to him.  
"Ana, she's been a close friend of mine for years." Grace said in a soft voice, the same voice she'd used when she was just a scared little girl. This was worse than she thought, the Grey's actually considered her a friend to the family. She had to do something. She had to protect the people that she loves.  
"What's her surname?" She asked everyone at the table whilst reaching for her clutch on the table to get her phone. But before she could reach it, Jay quickly swiped it up. She didn't even see him return.  
"Oh no, Rosie. You're not doing that." She scowled at him. Damn him for knowing her so well.  
"Christian, can I borrow your phone?" She saw him look between her and Jay and out of the corner of her eye she saw Jay shake his head. Damn. He just sat there, looking at her bewildered.  
"Will somebody please borrow me their fucking phone!?" When no-one answered her, just sat staring at her she snapped.

She lunged at Jay, catching him off guard and they were soon wrestling for the bag he had in a tight grip. Eventually she had him on the floor on his stomach, his hands behind his back. She used her knee to press on his wrist, causing his grip on the bag to release. She stood quickly and placed the thin heel of her stiletto on the back of Jay's neck.  
"Don't you dare move, Taylor!" She snapped at him whilst roughly taking her phone out of her bag. She dialed the number she needed and waited the usual two rings before the person answered.  
"Peters." Came the usual gruff voice.  
"It's me. I need you to run a deep BGC on Elena…" Crap. She still didn't get her surname. She looked back at the table with a raised eyebrow. She zeroed in on Kate, the weakest member of the group.  
"Lincoln." Kate told her quietly and watched as everyone sent her a death glare.  
"Elena Lincoln. Dig deep. I want to know everything. I'm not fucking around with this, Peters. Get it done." She said, and hung up. She moved her heel from Jay's neck and helped him to stand up.  
"Now, was that really so hard Taylor?" She snapped at him, still breathing deeply. Catching her off guard and proving to her once again that he knew her better than she thought, Jay moved forward and captured her in a tight embrace. She brought her hands up to curl around the collar of his shirt, feeling the warm skin on his neck. She allowed herself 30 seconds to calm herself down before pulling away and kissing Jay's nose.

"I'm sorry for my behaviour everyone." She said with a slight flush in her cheeks. Then she looked towards Carrie who was looking at her with concern. "Do you think that I could speak to you and Gracie in private?" He nodded and started raising from the table, taking Gracies hand and helping her to stand too. "Christian? Would you mind coming with me, please?" She couldn't help the small smile that spread across her face at Christian's confused face. He was so cute. When he nodded, she held out her hand to allow him to guide her in the direction of the house, followed closely by Carrie, Gracie and Jay.  
"Your study alright, Dad?" Christian called behind him.  
"Sure, son." She heard Carrie reply.

Soon they were all in Carries study. Ana and Christian sat on one of the couches whilst Carrie and Gracie sat on the opposite couch. She noticed that Jay stood by the door, offering her silent support.  
"Who is she?" She asked them all again. Carrie leaned forward and took her hand.  
"Ana Rose, we told you. She's been a close friend of Gracies for a long time." She shook her head.  
"Then it's something you don't know about. You can't see her anymore, Gracie." She said with all seriousness.  
"Don't be so ridiculous, Ana. She's been nothing but nice to this family. Christian used to be like you were when we first met, but she let him work in her yard to help release some of his frustrations and it worked."

Oh fuck. She could see the evil in that woman's eyes as soon as they'd locked on her. She didn't even process the way she'd scowled at hers and Christian's locked hands. It didn't even cross her mind that her evilness had at some point been directed towards Christian. She lost her breath again, it left her in a big whoosh of air. Her panic stopped her from being able to take a breath in. Was this the woman who abused him like she'd been abused? Oh please god, no! She heard muffled voices and looked up from her lap to see everything through blurry eyes. Someone was in front of her, holding onto her arms. NO! Don't touch me! She couldn't get the words out, she felt too weak to try to push them off and suddenly she felt a sharp slap to her back. The shock caused her to take a deep breath in, followed by another, and another until she could finally see that it was Jay in front of her, holding onto her arms. She was exhausted physically and emotionally and she was scared for Christian. Everything seemed to way down on her as she looked into Jay's concerned eyes. She felt herself lean forward, and everything went black.

Taylor's POV

She knew. He knew that she knew. As soon as the words left Grace's lips, he saw her make the connection in her mind. She was too smart not to have figured it out yet. She'd stared pure evil in the eye for thirteen years. A ramification of that meant that she could read people so easily. She knew if they were evil as soon she looked into their eyes. Elena fucking Lincoln was no exception. His Rosie had known as soon as Lincoln turned those cold eyes onto her that she was pure evil. He saw how much control she was using not to beat her there and then, he loved that about her. She could kick anyone's ass if she wanted to, she was small and lethal but she only resorted to violence when necessary. He knew that she needed him and he felt like an asshole for being away from her for so long. Well, he was with her now and his baby girl needed protecting.

As soon as he heard her breath release he knew he had to step in. He quickly walked towards the Grey's and his Rosie and kneeled down in front of her. She had her head down and he heard her throat clicking as she struggled for breath. He hated to see her like this. When they were at the school her panic attacks were minimal, she had her Father and him to look after her. Plus, everyone at the school worshipped the ground she walked on. She had routine and recently everything was fucked up. He played a part in that and he hated it.

He softly called her name a few times to get her attention. When she was panicking like this he'd learned to get her attention before touching her otherwise she wouldn't know who it was and panic further. He heard Grey in the background blabbing away, shouting like he normally does but he blocked him out. His Rosie needed all of his attention right now. He tried calling her name again and she raised her head. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were out of focus. Shit, this was bad. He did the only thing that he could think of. He released one of her arms, reached around her and landed a sharp slap on her back. It worked, she took in a deep breath and then a few more until it was obvious she was feeling better. She looked into his eyes and he could see that she was exhausted. He knew what was going to happen. He always did when it came to his Rosie. Her eyes half closed as she sat up on the couch and she leaned forward onto him and passed out.

"What the fuck?!" Grey's voice came booming through his ears. "Taylor, what the hell?!"  
"She's just passed out, sir." He said as he effortlessly and carefully picked Rosie up off the couch, taking the time to make sure her head was securely resting on his shoulder and that her delicate hands were resting on her lap. He turned to Grace and Carrick and was relieved to know that they've seen Rosie like this numerous times, it makes things less complicated. Just as he was about to open his mouth Mr Grey beat him to it.  
"Just passed out?! JUST PAST OUT?! You're talking like this is a normal thing!" He had to remind himself that Grey was one of the good guys who cared for his Rosie. Oh...and his boss. He treaded carefully.

"Boss, she hasn't been like this since she was a child. When structure is all you know, you can get thrown off when things start to change. It's been a tough weekend for Ro- I mean Ana and I'm sure I don't need to explain why." He was sure he'd made the man speechless. He's never spoken to him about anything other than work before and he had to admit, this was fucking weird for him too.

"What can I do?" He replied after gaining some equilibrium.  
"Let me go for the night." Was his response and he knew he'd shocked him once again. "Sawyer can cover you, I need to take care of Ana."  
"We can all leave now and head to Escala." Grey seemed to plan out loud.  
"Ana needs to rest, boss." He said and turned towards Carrick and Grace. "Do you mind us staying here?" It was Grace who was quick to answer.  
"Oh, of course not Jason. As long as you stay for brunch tomorrow." He glanced at Grey.  
"I'll be working tomorrow, Grace but I'm sure Ana would if she's feeling better."  
"One of these days, Jason." He heard Grace mutter, referring to the fact that he always had to refuse her offers due to his job. "Go straight on up, darling. Same room is fine." He nodded his head and headed for the stairs.

Before landing his job with Grey he'd visited Carrick and Grace for a weekend to catch up whilst he was in Seattle. He assumed that the room Grace was talking about was the same one he stayed in when he was here, so he made his way upstairs and down the corridor to the very end. It was a spacious guest room with an en suit. Perfect for his Rosie. If this would have been when she was a little girl, he would have changed her and put her to bed like a daddy would, but she wasn't little Ana anymore so he flung back the covers from the bed and gently laid her down. He moved to sit in the armchair in the corner of the room so that he could keep an eye on his Rosie. He knew that she would feel so vulnerable when she woke up and he had to be there for her. Sat in that chair, his mind started to drift.

He never thought he would have been in Seattle for this long, or away from Rosie for so long. He couldn't dwell on the past. She was here, she was safe and if he had anything to do with it she will be happy. It was like no time had passed between them, like he hadn't been away at all. They still fought, harmlessly of course and Ana still won. She may not be his biological daughter, and she may not call him daddy but blood doesn't always matter. The whole Grey family is evidence of that. They had a special bond, just like any Father and Daughter would have.

It has always been so different with Rosie than parenting Sophie. She allowed you to parent her, but only so far. She would listen to advice and look for guidance on some things, but on others you could tell that she had already made up her mind. She'd learned to trust her instincts, so if you were telling her one thing but she thought differently, she was going to go with her gut. Just like tonight. He tried to stop her causing a scene in front of everyone, especially with how raw the details actually are. But she felt evil and she was going to do what she was going to do whether anyone liked or not.

Anyone who really knows Rosie knows her that they're in trouble or that the situation is deadly serious if she calls you by your last name. Like with him. He hates it when she calls him Taylor. He gets an involuntary shiver every time that name passes her lips. But when she kisses him on the nose? It brightens up his world. To Rosie, it's a sign of trust and affection so to get that special kiss means a whole lot to him. More than his manliness cares to admit. She breaks him down, he can't help it. He tried so hard when she was just a girl to be less affectionate in public, but the fear in her eyes was too much to bare.

The sound of her heavy breathing and limbs moving against the sheets brought him out of his head. It looked like the start of one of her nightmares. He had to stop it. She needed a good nights rest for fucks sake. He made his way over to the opposite side of the bed to Rosie, took off his shoes and got into bed beside her. He reached over and pulled her to him until she was between his arms and chest. He found that holding her tight like this made her feel more secure allowing her nightmares to drift away. He didn't mean to fall asleep with her but he was soothed by the sound of her breathing.

Ana's POV

She woke with a start and looked around. She was being held tightly in Jay's arms, half laying on him and half laying on the bed. Both of them dressed as they were the night before. She had no idea where she was and that didn't sit right with her. The last thing she remembered was talking to Carrie, Gracie and Christian about that ice woman. Oh shit. She had a panic attack and must have past out. She jumped out of bed, walked over to the door and locked it. Next she moved to check the bathroom, closet and under the bed. When she was positive it was safe at the moment she moved back to the bed to wake Jay up. Noticing her dress already creased to hell she grabbed the fabric and pulled it up from her legs. She flung herself forward onto the bed and landed heavily next to Jay causing him to jump awake.

"Damn it, Rosie! You scared the life out of me! Oh...you're gonna get it now girl!' She squealed trying to get away but he caught her before she could make it off the bed. He started to tickle her and she couldn't help the snorting laughter that came from her mouth. Soon they were both wiggling around the bed, laughing so hard they had tears running down their faces from one of their famous tickle wars. Ana froze solid when she heard a knock at the door. Jay must have noticed her alarm as he informed her. "We're at the Grey's still. You had a panic attack and passed out. I brought you straight here and you're safe." She let out a breath, relieved they were safe.

She stood and made her way to the door, unlocking it and opening it just enough to see who was on the other side. It was Mia, stood with a massive smile on her face holding what looked to be a pile of clothes.  
"Morning Ana! Hope you had a good sleep! I got you some clothes to change into, I hope they fit. You can't really come to brunch in that dress now can you?" Wait, what?  
"I'm sorry, brunch?"  
"We always have a family brunch after these events and there's no way my mom will let you leave without eating anything, never mind Christian." She shoved the pile of clothes into Ana's hands. "Now, you shower and change and I'll see you downstairs soon." With that, she was gone

Ana turned around and saw Jay trying to hide his smirk, damn...he knew about this brunch. Oh, he was so gonna get it later! Without a word to him she headed straight for the bathroom. It didn't take her long to shower, change and brush her teeth. When she came out she noticed Jay had straightened out his clothes and was reattaching his gun to his ankle.  
"Please don't tell me I've got to have brunch with them on my own?" She gave him her best puppy dog look. He just looked up at her in all seriousness.  
"You've it to have brunch on you're own. I'm working, Angel." He walked up to her and kissed her head. "Come on, I'll walk down behind you." She looked up into his eyes and kissed his nose.  
"Thank you." With that she headed down the stairs.

She was halfway down when she heard a voice she never wanted to hear again. The ice woman's. She could hear her and Gracie talking. Hmm, maybe she could get more of an idea of this woman if she knew her role in the Grey family. She turned her head to look at Jay and whispered. "Let me do this." She took the last few steps carefully and slowly made her way to the door of the reception room. She could now hear their voices clearly.

"I'm sorry Elena, I don't know what has gotten into her."  
"Wait...Christian said her name was Anastasia. It couldn't be the same Anastasia you told me about all those years ago, could it Grace? Because from what you told me she was a pretty messed up kid." Just as she was about to feel the air leave her, she was pressed up against the wall next to the door by Jay, his hand covering her mouth. He looked into her eyes and shook his head. There was no way she was going to let this go. Gracie was one of few people who she's ever been able to trust and now to find out that she'd told this evil woman all about her made her want to scream. She fucking trusted her! She brought her knee up into Jay's crotch causing him to bend over in pain, effectively releasing her. She stormed into the room where the two women sat.

"I trusted you, Grace! How could you fucking do this to me! Don't you ever speak to me again, do you hear me?!"

**A/N - **I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! I really wanted to focus on Ana and Taylor's relationship a bit more and hopefully you all like their relationship :) let me know your thoughts! Should she be mad at Grace? Oh, and sorry if there's any mistakes...I would have liked to have read over it once more but I'd finished and I know some of you really wanted an update! :)

**Lots of love...  
Daisy xoxo**


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